Lit Match, Meet Oil
by ManjiKnight
Summary: Meramelion is quite possibly the most overbearingly radiant person anyone has ever met. The troubled Jinmenken is his polar opposite. When these two Yo-kai end up becoming neighbors, it doesn't take long for a heated rivalry to develop that turns their living area into a battlefront. Meanwhile, their growing animosity is only adding fuel to a hidden fire... [Alcohol/language]
1. Chapter 1: Opening the Matchbox

**Some important notes before you read:**

 **-This story uses Japanese names for Yo-kai and locations as well as certain phrases. Any Yo-kai that has been mentioned BY NAME will have their localized name at the bottom of their debut chapter.**

 **-This story contains light spoilers for episodes 87+, which is well beyond what has been dubbed currently. Please note that some of the content referenced is from episodes that have not yet been fam-subbed and are only available in raw Japanese.**

* * *

It was a typical enough night in Sakura New Town's shopping district. A few gently glowing streetlights offered their guidance to the few still out and about in the latest hours of the day. The streets were mostly quiet with the exception of footfalls and the soft humming of car wheels on pavement. The renowned Flower Road, the wide strip mall that during the day was filled with bustling customers, was dark and completely silent. Tucked away behind the Chinese food place on this road was an alleyway that, unbeknownst to 99% of Sakura New Town's population, a few spirit-like creatures called home.

The alley passage, while decently sized, wasn't densely populated. A small number of goblins with heads shaped like human buttocks were scattered around the place and a sausage-shaped oni or two sometimes emerged from the entryway to the sewers. And on this particular night, two dog spirits slept side-by-side in a pair of old cardboard boxes. One of them, a toy poodle with the face of a middle aged man, emitted guttural snores as he dozed and tossed and turned like laundry in a was-hing machine. The other, a fedora-wearing bulldog about three quarters of his size, slept much more quietly, curled up while hugging a chocolate-colored suitcase to his chest.

Suddenly, a slight breeze washed over the alley. The beating of a pair of wings could be heard by the butt-faced monsters that were awake, causing- them to look around in confusion. An avian, shrouded in the black of the night, landed right in the center of the alleyway, its wings spread threateningly in an arc. The butt goblins hopped towards it cautiously, forming a circle around the bird. The bird slowly picked up its drooping, long neck to eye the butts, its eerily sharp eyes slowly sweeping the area. The butt monsters, sensing malevolence in the bird's body language, collectively sucked in air in preparation for a gas attack. Before they could let out so much as a pellet of noxious air, the bird folded his wings in front of its chest and then forcefully unfolded them again, releasing a blast of wind magic dyed purple. The attack sent the group of butt monsters flying at least thirty feet, some of them letting out a short squeak of helplessness.

The elder dog awoke with a start at the sudden commotion, looking around frantically. In his confusion, he didn't realize he had been sleeping draped over the edge of the box and tipped it over with his weight. He fell face first onto the ground with a groan with the box flipped over on top of his lower half. In his half-consciousness, it took him a few seconds to adjust and recognize the sound of wings flapping slowly closing in on him. He dizzily arose, hastily adjusting his glasses. Immediately upon readjusting his eyes, he noticed he was face to face with the intruder, its beak nearly touching his nose.

The startled human-faced dog jumped with a cry and fell back down again onto his rear. The bird loomed over him, craning its neck.

"Did I startle you, hoo~?" The bird's voice was soft and almost a little sad-sounding yet undeniably creepy.

"I don't know, what do you _think_?" grumbled the dog through clenched teeth. Unfortunately, his sarcasm did little to hide his fear, which showed through his buckling knees as he stood up again.

"My apologies, hoo~..." It paused for a minute before finishing with, "but I have to ask something of you-hoo..."

The dog grunted with a terse nod. He really just wanted to go back to sleep.

"You-hoo see..." the bird said, "I'm evicting you-hoo~."

"Say what now?" the dark brown poodle replied dryly. This he wasn't expecting.

"You-hoo heard me correctly. I'll have to ask that you-hoo pack up and leave, hoo~."

"What the—who—why?!" the human-faced dog sputtered. "Who said you could just make me up and leave _my_ home, eh? I'll have you know—"

"Hate to burst your bubble," the foul fowl interrupted, "but I don't really care, hoo~. I just have a job to do-hoo~..."

The miffed dog growled at this and showed his fangs, getting on all fours into a fighting stance. "Look, you know dogs hunt birds, right? We ain't going anywhere, so scram!"

The bird stared down the dog for a solid ten seconds. It noticed almost right away that his wispy hairpiece bobbed to and fro as he trembled. All bark. No bite.

"I'd rather not, hoo~..." it casually began to preen its wings, as though challenging the mutt. He certainly picked up on it. Violet flames formed from the inside of his mouth as he opened wide and pounced.

" _Ossan-kami Ma—_!" Before his teeth could so much as graze the feathered foreigner, it forcefully smacked its attacker upwards with its wing. The dog yelped in surprise. The bird flew up to him while he was still suspended in midair and sent a powerful gust at him at full speed, sending him hurtling diagonally towards the ground. He met the concrete with a loud _thud_ and a cry of pain. _What terrible thing did I do today to deserve this...?_

"You-hoo could continue to talk back if you-hoo so desire, hoo...~" the bird boasted with a satisfied smirk that nobody could see in the darkness.

Suddenly, it felt something smack it on the side of the head. It winced at the sting as it turned its head around to notice the suitcase that had landed next to it on the ground. Its apparent owner, the bulldog, stood proudly a few feet away from him.

"Leave us alone!" the bulldog threatened in his childlike voice. Despite the ringing in his ears, the poodle recognized the voice of his companion and shakily stood himself up.

"Kid...d-don't..." he muttered, his paw clutching his forehead. The bird chuckled mockingly as it glared at the pup.

"How precious, even the little one wants to fight, hoo~." The bird taunted. The human-faced dog noticed it taking deliberately slow steps towards its attacker. Said bulldog didn't so much as flinch.

"I'm not litt—!" before the bulldog could reply, he found himself hoisted under the arm of his superior with the suitcase under his other arm.

"No, no, he doesn't want to fight at all!" he shouted. The bulldog opened his mouth in protest, but the other had already taken off towards the mouth of the alleyway with him in tow.

" _Chikushyo_!" the poodle's panicked cry echoed throughout the area, and just like that, they were gone.

The bird, victorious, stretched out its wings and yawned. "Even easier than I was told it would be, hoo~."

The bird released a short, wistful call into the night sky. A flock of five more birds, lighter in color but otherwise identical to its leader, descended to the ground and encircled the dark avian.

"It doesn't matter how long you-hoo must stay here. Just make sure he doesn't try to come back before the next step is complete, hoo~." The flock collectively saluted with their wings. With one final "hoo," their leader flew up and disappeared into the night sky.

Come a few days after the alleyway incident, nobody besides the attacked had heard of its occurrence. The other Yo-kai, as they were called, inhabiting the alleyway kept what had happened under wraps; no doubt they were fearful of the bird Yo-kai's power. As it turns out, the secret wouldn't remain as such for long.

While many Yo-kai dwelled in alleyways or other "dungeons," some lucky Yo-kai often lived in houses just like those of any human. However, like the Yo-kai themselves, these homes were invisible to the human eye—they existed in the same plane of existence in between the Yo-kai and human worlds as the strange spirits. One such home was located in Sakura New Town's urban downtown not too far from the perpetually under development construction site. The house, painted a lively blue with a roof that was once a deep maroon but browned over time, had two floors—one general living space and a rather large basement.

This was the home of a certain young Yo-kai, a fired-up feline known as Meramelion. If one were to ask everyone who had ever met Meramelion to describe him in one word, it would certainly be "radiant." Meramelion alone exuded more passion and confidence than any number of other Yo-kai combined—they say the only thing that burned brighter than his billowing mane of fire was his heart.

The day that changed Meramelion's life had started just like any other. He had waken up before the sun even peeked its head up over the horizon—the early bird catches the worm, of course—and was out most of the day working out, inspiriting some people, working out, meeting up with his friends, and did I mention working out? Indeed, the little furball of flame had such boundless energy that he could do multiple hour-long sessions and still not feel the need to sleep a wink. So of course, he was feeling as refreshed as usual when he arrived home that evening to share dinner with his brother, Gulagulion.

Gulagulion was about ten years older than his brother. His fur was dyed a blood crimson as opposed to Meramelion's bright orange and the tip of his mane was black instead of rose red. Compared to his astoundingly fit brother, Gulagulion was a bit on the chunkier side, though make no mistake—his physical strength was so immense that even he didn't know his own power sometimes. Gulagulion had worked multiple jobs in the Yo-kai realm, but was currently working as a part-time security guard somewhere in the human realm where many Yo-kai gathered, making sure that no humans or invading Yo-kai disturbed the peace. Because so few beings ever really showed up, there wasn't usually any actual guard work to be done, so he spent his days sparring the Yo-kai residents or other security guards. This tended to tire him, and by the time his younger sibling came home in the evenings, he was taking a cat nap on the couch. Today, however, he was furiously scrubbing down the kitchen counter with a rag and cleaning spray. This was how Meramelion knew something was different.

"I'm ho—" the young lion began as he came through the door into the wooden furnished kitchen, but stopped mid-sentence as he bore witness to his brother's unusual actions. The crimson feline was never quite one for cleaning and was usually incredibly reluctant when it came to tidying up the place, but today he seemed almost eager to get the job done.

"Gula? What's going on here?" he inquired, a subtle chuckle escaping his lips. Gula barely shot his brother a glance as he shuffled over to the overhead cabinet and spritzed it.

"I'll explain later," Gulagulion replied hurriedly, "I've gotta get ready for the morning..."

"The morning?" Mera questioned with a tilt of the head.

"Yeah," Gula answered, "I made some...let's just say

plans on the way home from work this afternoon. Big ones. Someone's coming over tomorrow."

Meramelion scratched his mane in befuddlement. Normally, he was the one who acted on his impulses, not his brother.

"Uh, are you sure you're...alright?"

"Positive! Better than ever," Gula assured, placing the rag and spray bottle next to the sink and coming over to clap his younger sibling on the back. "Thing is, I think I've got a sweet deal made, so I'm pretty hyped."

Mera rolled his eyes. Gula's vagueness drove him batty.

"C'mon, champ," Gula said, "go and do your big bro a favor and tidy up your room. And don't leave a single spot untouched, 'kay?"

"Man," Mera joked, "you're starting to sound like Todoki." Todorokijishi was the eldest of Mera's family of four. He had moved out a few years ago, leaving Gula in charge, to live his own life and had found great success as a motivational speaker and fitness trainer. He was constantly traveling around both realms, which didn't leave him much time to communicate with his family. Nevertheless, Mera looked up to his oldest brother more than almost anyone else, if only because he almost always brought out the best in everyone he was near. One of the less admirable things about Todoki, though, was that he used to nag—and boy, did he nag. Over chores. Over manners. Over what Mera was doing and who he was talking to. "It's for your own good," he would say, "so soon enough you'll have a refined sense of responsibility." Sometimes, Mera wondered if perhaps he was right, but being a kid, he would always protest. He was a little older nowadays and mostly understood the purpose of his brother's words. He often imagined how proud the white-colored lion would be of him if he could see him every day.

Gulagulion ruffled Mera's mane. "Could be worse," he quipped, "I could be like Usepp."

Mera laughed and nodded in agreement. Useppelion, the second youngest. Outside of playful conversations such as this one, Mera and Gula didn't talk much about him—he too had left the house a while ago, but unlike Todoki, he became a delinquent and had run off with some gang. His brothers occasionally heard about his status through word of mouth—the rumor mill was especially active in the world of Yo-kai—but his general whereabouts were practically a mystery.

After flashing one last grin at his brother, Meramelion retreated to his small, cluttered bedroom and Gula went back to scrubbing as though his very life depended on it. Mera still wasn't sure what all the fuss was about, but he'd do his best work for his brother's sake. He figured he'd at least humor his brother's idea, whatever that was—it was probably just some bum who would buy some old junk out of the basement from Gula and they'd never see them again, but it would make his brother happier, at least temporarily. For whatever reason, making extra buck made Gula more elated than a Tsuchinoko possessed by Ageageha.

If only it had been that simple.

About thirty minutes had gone by when Gulagulion pushed open the door to his brother's room. Meramelion had picked up all the loose clothes (multiples of the same outfit, of course), bottles of energy drinks, and other assorted items off of the floor and either put them in their place or threw them away; he was now pacing around the room as he often did when he was lost in thought. Gula smiled. Good old Mera.

"Not bad, buddy," Gula complimented, bringing Mera out of his little trance with a slight jump as he hadn't noticed Gula had entered.

"Huh? Oh yeah, it was nothin'." Mera responded with a dismissive wave of the hand. Gula waltzed over and sat down on Mera's bed, the younger Yo-kai quickly following suit.

"So I guess you want me to give you the low-down, right?" said Gula as he wiped a bit of sweat off his brow. While Mera was tidying up his room, Gula had done the bathroom, living room, and the rest of the kitchen. Mera nodded intently at his brother's question, motioning for him to continue.

"Well, see, I actually met a guy on the way to work this morning." Gula said. He usually left for work around three AM and worked a ten hour shift.

"We literally bumped into each other in the middle of the shopping district—understandable, I guess, since it was so early in the morning. I couldn't get a clear look at him because it was so dark out, but he looked like an older guy, sixties, maybe. His face was strangely human, but he was definitely a Yo-kai. He had a little kid with him as well wearing a pretty silly hat—"

"A little kid? At three o'clock in the morning?" Mera interrupted.

"Yeah, something like that. He was slurring a little too when he apologized to me, so I asked him what was going on. Not every day you see a tipsy old guy wandering around with a child, y'know? And then I guess he was too hammered to realize I was a total stranger—" Gula snickered a bit as he said the last part—"and suddenly we were just kinda chatting. He said he and the little guy got attacked and forced out of their alley a few days ago. He tried to go back, but apparently there were some malicious Yo-kai occupying the place—their attacker's cronies, presumably—and didn't want to confront 'em. Too risky, he claimed."

"Man. That sucks..." said Mera with an empathetic frown.

"Sure does. And you know, I felt bad for the two of them, not knowing where to go and all that. They were kinda scared the guy that attacked them would find them again, too—not that they were sure what their deal was. So...I guess since they were nice enough dudes and all, I gave them an offer...you know that old basement we barely use except to store junk?"

"Yeah. Wh—" Mera suddenly stopped. His brightened irises contracted as he realized what his brother was hinting towards.

"Wait a second. This doesn't mean what I think it means, does it?"

Gula whistled, amused by his brother's reaction and impressed with his intrigue. "You catch on quick, champ."

"You're kidding, right?" Mera exclaimed. "I mean, if Todoki found out we were housing two total strangers, he'd be pissed..."

"Todoki doesn't live here anymore, does he? Doesn't matter what he thinks." Mera sighed at this. Though he wouldn't dare admit it, he knew Gula was right—Todoki sent the occasional letter and visited once a year around the holidays, but in the end it was clearly his intent to avoid speaking to them as much as possible. Even to this day, Mera didn't really understand why he felt the need to do all this. His brother wasn't sick of them, was he? No, not Todoki. Mera quickly eviscerated those thoughts from his mind.

"Anyway," Gula continued, snapping Mera out of his pondering, "they were totally humbled by the offer and accepted, even if it's only temporary. Until, I dunno, they figure out what's going on with those Yo-kai that attacked them. And you know, for a couple minutes I was wondering if I really had been too impulsive..." Gula rubbed his index finger and thumb together and smirked, "and then he even offered to pay me."

Mera groaned. "Of course. It's always about the money with you." He shoved his brother playfully. "I just made over a million last month! How much could we possibly need?"

"Watch your tone, short stuff," Gula retorted with a chuckle, lightly punching Mera's shoulder. "And you spent it all on gym memberships and charities, remember?

"...Oh. Right." Money tended to slip from Mera's fingers like butter on an ice skating rink.

"Besides," said Gula, "we need as much as we can get if we wanna keep living around here. You know Todoki barely sends us anything nowadays, and my job's just barely enough..."

"Yeah, yeah. True," Mera agreed. Yet another result of Todorokijishi's nonsensical mentality that he needed to challenge his brothers. Unless he was just a little selfish...no, not Todoki. Mera pushed that thought out of his head.

"Wait a minute," the orange lion cub added, "how does a practically homeless guy have enough money to pay rent?"

Gula shrugged passively. "Something about a gig he had during one of those Yo-kai song battle things. Both him and his buddy were in bands, actually. Anyway, he can't find anywhere else in town that isn't already occupied by territorial Yo-kai and he can only just barely afford to pay me for a few months tops. So yeah."

The two were silent for a few seconds as Mera tried to digest all the information he had just heard. While he frequently invited his friends over, he had never actually lived with anyone besides his brothers. And this was a total stranger, to top it all off!

He noticed his brother shoot him a concerned glance—he must have noticed his furrowed brows. Mera decided to break the silence in the least awkward way possible.

"So...even though they're just living in the basement, you decided to clean the entire house?"

Gula's countenance shifted instantly, his mouth agape as he laughed. "Guess that was kinda silly, huh? But they do have to walk in through the front entrance and I don't want them to think we're sloppy people."

Mera shook his head. "But we _are_ sloppy people."

"They don't have to know that," Gula replied with a cheeky grin. Suddenly, he let out a yawn loud enough to be considered a roar.

"I'm gonna go bum around for a bit before I start grilling the meat. I want you to go to bed a little after dinner, alright? Gotta be up bright and early; they said they were coming by at seven to make final arrangements. I'm probably gonna call in sick to work."

"Bro," Mera protested, "you know I'm gonna get up at, like, five in the morning regardless of how late I go to sleep."

"Can't argue with you there," Gula admitted, hopping off of the bed and stretching out his arms. He proceeded towards the door.

"Wait a minute," Mera called, "didn't you at least get their names?"

"Huh? Oh, sorta. I mean, we were talking for so long that I lost track of time and had to rush off to work. Between that and the old dude being drunk, I only barely caught it."

Gula paused and hummed in thought. "Something with a 'J.' Jim...Jimmy?"

"Uh...Jimmy? The ninja guy?" Mera pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, right, forgot he existed..." Gula rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "That wasn't it anyway. Just sounded like it."

The crimson-dyed feline shrugged and gave his brother one final half-wave before retreating to his own room. When Mera was sure his brother couldn't hear him, he chortled to himself for a solid minute. For as savvy as Gula was, he sure did fail to pick up on the simplest things.

Mera's thoughts soon drifted back to what Gula had said about this mysterious stranger. Old guy. Was at a song battle. Starts with "J." He could've sworn he knew someone like this. The Yo-kai's name was buried somewhere in his brain, but frustratingly just wouldn't be dug up. Perhaps it was an acquaintance of some sort. Somehow, the incredibly vague memories Mera had of someone like this left a bitter taste in his mouth—like something negative had been attached to them.

Mera decided it was best to shrug it off and wait to find out until the morning. Besides, he trusted his brother's judgement. He wouldn't pick up anyone bad off the street, right?

Right?

The rest of the night was a bit of a blur. When Mera finally awoke that morning, he could feel his jittery heart rattle around in his chest. He hated this feeling, these nerves—he was Meramelion! Anxiety was a foreign concept to the crusader of confidence! When he finally heard voices at the door around seven o'clock, he took in a deep breath and puffed his chest out as he went to go greet his new neighbors.

As soon as Meramelion saw the glasses-donning, chocolate-colored canine engaged in conversation with his older brother, his jaw dropped like a rock. The floodgates in his brain finally opened and the memories came rushing through. He had heard stories. Many, many stories from fellow Yo-kai. They had even had a few brief personal encounters through their mutual human friend, and he had rubbed him the wrong way as soon as he laid his eyes on him. And now, here he was. He would have preferred it if the devil himself had walked into his house.

No. No, this couldn't be happening. Not him. Anyone but him. Terrible. Disgusting. Criminal.

Meramelion screamed.

* * *

 **English names:**

 **Sakura New Town = Springdale**

 **Meramelion = Blazion**

 **Gulagulion = Quaken**

 **Todorokijishi = Siro**

 **Useppelion = Blazioff (the "criminal" version of Blazion)**

 **Jimmy = Dimmy**

 **Tsuchinoko = Noko**

 **Ageageha = Pepillon**

 **Also, "Chikushyo!" is Manjimutt's catchphrase in the original version. It roughly translates to "damn it!" but I decided to keep it as is since a couple of other characters will keep their rather famous catchphrases intact later on.**


	2. Chapter 2: Striking the Match

The young lion's piercing scream sliced through the air like a blade and cut off all conversation. Time slowed to a halt as his brother, the middle-aged poodle, and a small bulldog peeping his head out from behind the poodle all turned to him. Gula's flaming mane simmered with rage and embarrassment, raising the temperature in the room considerably.

"Meramelion!" Gulagulion roared, his lips turned up in a snarl, "what's gotten into you? Is this how you treat your new housemates?!"

Typically, Meramelion would be contrite and ashamed about having reacted in such a disrespectful way. Not this time. He ignored his brother's question and pointed straight at the mangy poodle.

"You...you were talking about him?!" Mera sputtered. The man-mutt hybrid in question raised an eyebrow.

"...I don't believe we've met before," he spoke courteously in his somewhat raspy voice.

"Don't play dumb!" Mera snapped as drops of sweat slid down his furry forehead, "I know that you—"

"It doesn't matter who it is," Gula interjected, "I will not allow you to treat people like this! Go back to your room until you're ready to be civilized."

Mera let loose a low growl before stomping off to his room, shoulders slumped. He had only complied to his brother for one reason and one reason alone—he could still hear what was going on through his door. As soon as he got to his room, Mera slammed the door and then immediately pressed his ear up against it.

"...Typically never acts like this. I'm so sorry, Jinmenken," Mera heard his brother apologize. Jinmenken. That was his name. "Jinmenken the troublemaker," some called him. And a troublemaker he was, otherwise he wouldn't have ended up in police custody nearly ten times.

"Ah, don't sweat it. I'm used to that kind of reaction, anyway," Jinmenken said to Gulagulion with a dry chuckle and added, "This is a big change for the kid. He'll adjust soon enough."

Mera wanted to adjust his face.

More words were exchanged about financial agreements, rearranging the basement, all the formalities. With nothing interesting to listen to, Mera let his rage-filled thoughts drown out the conversation. He still couldn't believe this. A criminal! In his home! As a crusader for justice, he simply would not stand for this. Even forgoing the criminal activity, it's not like Jinmenken was a pleasant person to be around. He was brooding, rude, pessimistic—the complete opposite of everything Mera wanted in a friend. He couldn't live with this. He just couldn't.

Mera spent the next few minutes with his back turned to the door thinking about the various ways in which he was going to call out his new neighbor. A knock on the door disturbed him from his thoughts.

"It's me," Gula's gruff voice spoke on the other side. The frustrated feline sighed and reluctantly stood up to open the door.

"Are you ready to try again?" Gula asked. Mera could hear his foot tapping on the wooden floor.

Mera had two options here. He could pretend to have calmed down and or tell his brother how it really was. Mera didn't know how to lie, so he took the second route.

"He can't stay here," Mera said flatly.

"And why not? He hasn't done anything objectionable."

"But he has!" Mera insisted, "Every Yo-kai that keeps up with current happenings knows that he's been jailed multiple times. He's been in Alcatraz, for crying out loud! Also, I've met him before. He's a wet blanket. I don't like him."

"Well, sometimes we have to deal with things in life that we don't like. I don't like going to work for twelve hours a day, but I do it." Mera rolled his eyes. Gula may as well have dyed his fur white.

"Besides," Gula continued, "he could've changed, you know? I mean, you're still being awfully vague about what exactly he's done, but if he's out of jail now it couldn't have been too bad."

"Do you even know what Alcatraz is?"

Gula rubbed his chin in thought. "It's...that city in Egypt, right?"

Mera slapped his palm against his forehead. "Just...just believe me, okay? He's putting on a facade. You'll see."

"Come on, Mera. You barely know him. Give it a chance."

Mera exhaled slowly. His brother's hide was tougher than Murikabe. He could only fight him for so long.

"Fine," Mera said, admitting defeat. "Where is he now?"

"He's in the basement. Otonabull—the little guy, that is—and him are sorting through and emptying out all the crap we've stored down there. I'm letting him keep whatever he finds unless it's something personal."

Mera mulled over this and quite quickly came up with an idea. His nose twitched as he tried desperately to hide a confident smirk.

"I guess I'll go help out, too. Maybe have a chat," Mera said. His brother's expression softened and he patted his younger sibling on the shoulder.

" 'Atta boy. Just please promise me that you'll be good, okay?"

"Promise!" Mera exclaimed with an affirmative nod. Gula grinned and stepped aside to allow Mera to march out the door towards the staircase.

He wasn't just going to have a chat. He was going to have a talk.

The lions' basement was about the size of your average one-room apartment. An alcove, which led to a currently unfinished room big enough to be a bathroom, was carved into the rightmost side of the area. Said area itself was quite vapid, with a crusty beige carpet and white-colored walls with a peeling paint job. Boxes upon boxes filled with endless amounts of trinkets, clothes, and more were scattered all around the room. The once family of four tended to hoard basically everything that had ever been brought through the house's doors—this was mostly encouraged by Todorokijishi, of course, as he had an almost motherly compulsiveness to record every memory his family made. Even after Useppelion and Todorokijishi left, Mera and Gula didn't have the incentive to sift through it all and let anything they didn't use regularly to rot. If the cursed dog just had to be here, at least he was cleaning out the basement for them.

The dog in question was currently digging through a box filled with old decorations and centerpieces, carefully examining each object before either putting it off to the side or back in the box. His companion, apparently called Otonabull, was pushing another box towards the stairs. Being too young to lift the heavy container, he had his body shoved up against it as he inched along. Mera, watching from the middle of the staircase, grimaced. Todoki was going to have Gula's head when he discovered he had allowed complete strangers to take their "antiques."

Mera watched in silence for a minute or so as he reviewed his plan in his head. He finally gave a determined nod towards nobody in particular and jumped the remainder of the flight of stairs, gracefully landing on the ground by the mouth of the staircase. Both canine Yo-kai turned their heads towards him in surprise when they heard his feet hit the floor.

Otonabull immediately stopped pushing his box and leapt on top of it, puffing his chest out.

"No more yelling at us!" The orange bulldog commanded proudly. Mera instantly took note of the child's strange fashion sense—he wore only a black fedora and a purple, goofily large tie.

"Hey, hey. I'm not going to yell anymore," Mera replied, holding his hands up defensively, "I'm just here to hang out." He tried to avoid making eye contact with Jinmenken who, based on the few furtive glances Mera took at him, was wordlessly staring at the lion Yo-kai.

"Well, I think you should apologize first!" Otonabull pouted. Jinmenken slowly rose from his position slumped over the box and trudged over.

"That's enough, squirt," the man-faced poodle snapped, lifting the puppy up from underneath his arms and placing him on the floor. "You aren't helping by yelling at him."

Otonabull's bent post-it shaped ears drooped as he frowned.

"But—"

"It's alright. I'm sorry about that, honest," Mera interrupted. He really just wanted to cut to the chase.

The bulldog Yo-kai turned to him with his head cocked, humming in thought as though evaluating his statement. He finally gave a short nod and perked up.

"Fine. I'm Otonabull," he said with a tip of the hat. He reached his paw out for a handshake. "Sorry to get so defensive. I thought that you were going to attack us."

Only one of you, Mera responded in his head. He was a little surprised at how quickly the bulldog changed his demeanor, but accepted the handshake anyway. "Meramelion. I know your name already; my brother told me."

Otonabull released the handshake and plodded over to the other side of the room, where he was getting ready to push another box. Again, Jinmenken said nothing—he simply stood with his arms folded across his chest. Mera almost found this a little eerie; it's as though the mutt was anticipating his next move. For just half a second, the two looked into each other's eyes. Mera noticed the most subtle angry squint through the other's glasses, while Jinmenken noticed the flame in Mera's irises glowing brighter than usual.

It was decided. Mera might as well get it over with.

A bright yellow aura surrounded the lion Yo-kai. With a flick of the arm, he sent a similarly colored flame towards Otonabull, who grunted as he struggled to move another box. The bulldog flinched with surprise as the flame enveloped his body, then fizzled out. Otonabull suddenly turned around, his beady black eyes now obscured by simmering flames. He thrust a paw into the air energetically.

"Boxes! Boxes! Move those boxes!" Otonabull shouted, his voice notably higher pitched than before. He thrusted his small body into the box with a determined yell and began shouldering across the carpet, his teeth gritted. The possession had been successful.

When any living being was being possessed by a Yo-kai, they typically lost awareness of their surroundings. Any response to their environment was actually that of their possessor's—they were simply a puppet. So for as long as Mera wanted, Otonabull was out of the picture. He almost felt bad, as the kid just seemed more confused than anything. But actual apologies would have to wait—and Jinmenken knew it, based on the cold stare he was currently giving Mera.

"I was waiting for that," Jinmenken announced flatly, confirming Mera's suspicions. Before the poodle could say anything more, he suddenly felt something slam into him with enough force to make him grunt. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground stomach-up with his biceps held down. Mera, fiery mane billowing, was mounted on top of him.

"You're smarter than you look. Now fess up!" The lion roared, fangs barred.

"'Fess up?' To what?" Jinmenken replied with an acerbic chuckle. "You're just as vitriolic as usual. Simmer down."

"I knew it!" Mera exclaimed, "You do remember me! Liar!"

"Nice to see you, too. Mind telling me what your deal is?"

"Get out of my house," Mera growled, ignoring Jinmenken's inquiry.

"You know, yelling at me again doesn't really resolve anything." Jinmenken rolled his eyes.

"I know everything about you," Mera continued, "and I'm not gonna live with a criminal! A defacer of property! A—"

"Oh, so that's what this is about. Should've guessed."

"Why are you so nonchalant about this? Don't you feel any regret? Or are you too self-absorbed to care?"

"Woah, okay, slow down, kid. I admit I slipped up a few times—okay, maybe more than a few times—but what can I say? I'm not what you would call stable, y'know?" Jinmenken let out a frustrated sigh. "And anyway, what's this got to do with the current day?"

"Because I, Meramelion, despise lawbreakers! And that's what you are! Nothing but a no-good nobody!"

"Can't argue with the 'nobody' part," Jinmenken grumbled under his breath.

"Also," Mera added, "you're old and gross and I don't like looking at you."

"Wow. I'm simply flattered."

The two locked eyes once again. Mera lowered his head to be closer to Jinmenken's, scrutinizing him with the most menacing glare he could manage. The poodle, slightly intimidated but not willing to admit it, lifted his head until their noses were nearly touching and growled. Mera responded with a hiss of his own, and soon they were simultaneously making guttural noises at each other, face muscles tightened, their gnarling crescendoing as the seconds passed. They both finally wore out their throats and relaxed, panting heavily. Jinmenken let his head back down and Mera loosened his grip on his arms, going from being in a mount to simply sitting on top of the dog's chest.

"Look," Jinmenken sighed after a period of silence, "I still don't understand why you're making so many assumptions even though we barely know each other. Things are different now, alright? I'm done trying to make a splash in the human world. I'm just trying to survive here, and now generous-to-a-fault old me has to take care of a kid as well. So have some sympathy, yeah? I have nothing to gain by being an ass anymore."

Mera stuck out his lower lip. "And how do I know you aren't gonna pull something anyway?"

"Such as...?"

Mera shrugged. "I don't know. Taking advantage of us. Peeing on the carpet."

"Look, I may be desperate, but I'm an honorable man. I'll pay your brother in full and be perfectly well behaved. Honest." He guiltily scratched behind his ears and added, "I can't promise anything about not peeing on the carpet, though. My bladder's a fragile thing."

Mera huffed at this, but didn't make a remark.

"Let's make a deal," Jinmenken stated. "You leave me alone to my sad self and I won't cause any trouble. I'll be a good dog, you be a reasonable person, and everyone's happy."

Mera didn't believe a word of it, but frankly, perhaps this was a good thing. All it meant was that one major slip-up would ensure Jinmenken's eviction—or at least, that was the best case scenario. The feline nodded curtly.

"Fine. But let's make one thing clear." He jabbed a finger into Jinmenken's cheek. "The first person to screw up is gonna pay big time. And it won't be me."

"Whatever you say. Now, can you get off me and stop possessing 'Tona? I don't think he's aware of what he's doing."

Mera swiveled his head around and noticed said bulldog was furiously pushing one of the last boxes of rejected items, only it wasn't actually going anywhere. His brain must have been in another realm, as he was apparently putting all of his energy into moving the box through the wall that was adjacent to the staircase. Mera giggled at the display and then did as Jinmenken asked, releasing the bulldog with a snap of his fingers. He and Jinmenken quickly stood up to make it seem as though nothing had happened.

Otonabull blinked a couple of times as the fire in his eyes died down. Nonplussed and strangely sore, he looked around him frantically. His expression of confusion turned into one of triumph as he noticed all of the boxes neatly lined up near the staircase ready to be carried upstairs.

"Oh, wow! Jinmenken-san, we got so much work done!"

"Right. Of course," Jinmenken replied with the faintest hint of a chuckle.

Mera spent the next hour "helping" Jinmenken and Otonabull with the rest of their work—or at least being as cooperative as possible so as not to raise his brother's suspicions. The rest of the day was fairly uneventful—Mera spent the day wandering around town by himself and working out; Jinmenken and Gula ordered furniture and hired some Yo-kai to redo the walls and carpet and finish the incomplete alcove. The dog and cat did a fairly decent job at hiding their little secret—so good a job, in fact, that Jinmenken had almost forgotten about the whole thing in the first place. Every so often, though, a pair of eyes that burned into his own as they glared reminded him that it was only an act.

The game was on.

A few days of tranquility passed by. As Jinmenken gradually made himself at home, Mera did his best to go about his daily routine as usual. Despite the fact that the smell of dog wouldn't leave his nostrils and a couple of clumps of matted brown fur had ended up on the kitchen floor, he wasn't having that hard of a time living.

At one point, Gula had even pulled his brother over and said "I told you things would be alright, didn't I?" to which Mera replied with a one-shouldered shrug. The truth was that Gula was right—Mera just didn't want to admit it, lest he spoke too soon. It turns out that his hunch was correct—perhaps Jinmenken had gotten just a bit too comfortable. Five days after the pair of canines had moved in, the first shot was fired.

When Mera wasn't alone, nine times out of ten his companions were the Atti Soul Brothers. Named, of course, for their affinity for heat, the bond between the Atti Soul Brothers couldn't be put out by the most powerful of fire hoses. On this particular day, the venue for their hangout was Mera's home. The four of them sat around the rectangular kitchen table.

"Chug! Chug! Chug!" Mera and two others, a large but gentle oni and a red terrier wearing a cloak, cheered as their quirky pig friend downed a gallon of freshly-brewed soup mixed with chunks of ghost chili pepper and hot sauce. They were partaking in one of their favorite games, which they dubbed "Can You Take the Heat?". Essentially, each member of the group would concoct and drink something so unimaginably hot that any human would pass out from ingesting it. There wasn't really a winner, but there sure were losers—if one couldn't handle the scorching temperature, they'd be the laughingstock of the day. Although it was just friendly teasing, none of the Soul Brothers would dare take a blow to his pride.

When the pig, named Nobosetonman, finished his beverage, he slammed the plastic jug onto the table with triumph and pumped his fist in the air.

"Whew! Now that's the stuff!" Nobosetonman exclaimed as his friends applauded.

"Way to go, dude!" Mera congratulated. His other friend, the perpetually perspiring oni Asekakki, whistled.

"Three of us have gone and nobody has choked yet. Maybe this is a four-for-four day!" said Asekkaki.

"Could be. You ain't gonna mess up, right, Garu?" Nobosetonman jeered, sticking his tongue out at the wand-toting canine known as Atsugaruru. Atsugaruru humphed as he pulled his own jug out from under his cloak.

"You've saved the best for last, my friends. Widower curry blended with vindaloo pork." The group collectively oohed and aahed at the impossibly spicy combo.

"Wait a sec," Nobosetonman said, "didn't you bring something like that last week and choke?"

"I did indeed," Garu admitted, "but at least I didn't literally choke like that one time you blended the bones of the buffalo wings into your drink."

"Ooooh! Sick burn!" Mera whooped, high-fiving Garu. "Pun totally intended."

Nobosetonman's pink face turned bright red. He was about to rebut when Asekakki opened his mouth first.

"Alright, enough chit chat! I'm on the edge of my seat here!" Garu and Mera both nodded in agreement. Nobosetonman grumbled something under his breath, but said nothing more. With that, Garu slowly raised the jug to his mouth, a competitive smirk across his muzzle. The suspense caused beads of sweat to roll down the others' foreheads—or in Asekakki's case, he just sweated harder. Atsugaruru took a deep breath, and...

The terrier instantly took a large gulp, and another, and another, until his friends could notice his muzzle was starting to blend into the color of his fur. After the fourth swig Garu suddenly dropped the jug. His beverage spilled and slowly spread across the table as he clutched his throat with both paws.

"Waterwaterwater!" Garu cried as his friends groaned disappointedly.

"Well, he did better than last time..." Mera sighed. Garu yanked open the nearby fridge and frantically grabbed the nearest drink he could find. That's when Asekakki noticed something strange about what Atsugaruru had taken.

"Hey, wait a minute. That doesn't look like something you've ever had in your fridge before, Mera." Asekakki stated. Mera titled his head in confusion at first, but then he squinted at the bottle. His heart skipped a beat and his pupils contracted as he noticed what was going on.

"Garu, wait!" Mera yelped, but it was too late—Garu already had the mouth of the bottle shoved in his mouth like a pacifier and was furiously gulping the liquid. After downing the bottle, he put it back down on the table with a defeated sigh.

"Drat. Guess I'll have to try again ne—" Garu paused when he looked up and noticed his friends eying him, shifting their eyes to the bottle, and then back to him, their jaws agape.

"What?" Garu questioned. He took a look at the bottle himself and gasped. It appeared to be some sort of beer—a rather strong one, judging by the alcohol content of 7%.

Nobody knew exactly why—some Yo-kai just had particularly odd hypersensitivities, it seemed—but Garu was extremely, extremely alcohol intolerant.

"Ooogh...excuse me," Garu said, hurriedly placing the bottle down as though it were a hot potato and making a mad dash to the bathroom. His three friends stood in awkward silence as the sound of the poor Yo-kai violently losing his lunch echoed through the house.

"Great," Nobosetonman muttered, "guess he's outta commission for the next couple of hours."

Asekakki frowned and turned to Mera. "I thought you guys didn't drink."

"We don't!" Mera replied. Suddenly, a realization smacked him in the face. He turned towards the still-ajar refrigerator

"We don't, but...I think..." Mera trailed off as he peered inside. The shelf where Mera and Gula normally kept milk, bottled water, or energy drinks was instead lined with at least a dozen bottles of the alcoholic beverage. Teeth clenched, he suddenly slammed the fridge door shut, making his companions jump. Nobosetonman and Asekakki both winced when Mera turned towards them and they noticed their normally cheerful friend's crossed eyebrows and twitching eyelid.

"Oh, I'm gonna...!" Mera growled, then sprinted out of the room. Asekakki and Nobosetonman exchanged baffled glances.

"Shouldn't we follow him?" Asekakki asked after a few wordless seconds.

"Nah," Nobosetonman replied with a sigh, "this sounds like something he wants t' handle on his own."

"Do you think it has to do with...?" Asekakki asked. Mera's friends had been told about the surprise newcomer the day after he had arrived. Nobosetonman huffed.

"I'm sure of it."

Downstairs, Jinmenken was enjoying an afternoon nap on a cushion and Otonabull was typing away on a small laptop when the sound of the door being flung against the wall brought them both out of their relaxed state. Before they could so much as blink, a fuming lion was on the ground at eye level with Jinmenken, who was already dripping with sweat from the heat emitted from the blazing Yo-Kai's mane.

"Can I help ya?" the human-faced dog mumbled groggily, then began to open his mouth for a big yawn.

"Busted," Meramelion snarled, the unexpected toxicity dripping from his words stealing the yawn out of Jimenken's lungs. The toy poodle coughed awkwardly, trying to hide the fact that he was quite flustered.

"Say what now?"

"You know what I'm talking about. Strike one, you're outta here." Mera said, hitchhiking behind him.

"Again with the assumptions? And isn't it three strikes?"

"Don't be clever," Mera snapped. "My house, my rules."

"Technically, it's your br—" an oddly feral hiss from Mera made him trail off mid-sentence. Otonabull, eyes wide, slowly scooted backwards and away from the pair but did not peel his eyes off of Mera.

"Okay then, Goliath," Jinmenken said nervously, putting his paws up in surrender, "I give. Chew me out for whatever it is I did."

Wordlessly, Mera reached his hand over and swiped an object off of the floor that Jinmenken hadn't even remembered was there. It was an empty bottle identical to the ones in the fridge.

"And who gave you permission to bring this into the house?" Mera asked, his tone significantly lower yet deliberate and confident.

Jinmenken rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Oh, that? 'S just one drink before naptime, helps me snooze, y'know?"

"Is that so?" Mera questioned. Jinmenken nodded his head furiously while anxiously fidgeting his paws.

"Explain to me, then..." Mera spoke softly as he leaned in closer to Jinmenken's face, causing the canine to draw his head back slightly. Mera inhaled intensely.

"WHAT'S GOING ON IN THE FRIDGE IF IT WAS JUST ONE FREAKIN' DRINK, HUH?!" Mera shouted at the top of his lungs, spittle flying onto Jinmenken's glasses. The poodle shrieked and scrambled off of the cushion, shrinking behind Otonabull, who snapped the laptop shut with one paw as his other one flew to his mouth.

"Okay, okay!" Jinmenken clamored, "you win! I kinda-sorta-maybe borrowed your fridge until my mini-fridge gets here! Happy now?"

"Happy, no. Satisfied with your admittance, yes." Mera now sat pretzel-style with his arms folded victoriously.

"For your information," the lion continued, "it's public indecency to store alcohol out in the open when you're living with others, especially when there are children around. Or people that instantly fall ill when they drink it. Or both. And clearly, being the loser that you are, nobody told you this. Or you just don't care."

"...So somebody drank my stuff?" Jinmenken uttered, ignoring Mera's many shots. Otonabull groaned and slapped a paw to his forehead.

"Precisely. And that somebody is now suffering thanks to your ignorance." Mera stood up and brushed off his tank top, then pointed towards the door. "So you can leave now."

"Wait, wait, come on. You're seriously trying to kick me out over one incident?" Jinmenken questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah, dude. One is more than zero."

Jinmenken rolled his eyes and arose from behind Otonabull, who at the moment bore a rather confounded look.

"Listen, listen. So I took some liberties that perhaps I shouldn't have. Give me the benefit of the doubt, will ya? Didn't mean any harm."

"Is that what you said to the police when you hijacked someone's pottery studio?"

Jinmenken's face flushed red. "Yes! I mean, no! I mean...forget about that!" Mera chortled for a brief moment at how quickly his adversary's composure had changed, but quickly dissipated the laughter with a cough and resumed staring the dog down.

"So give me one good reason to give you another chance."

"Uh, well..." Jinmenken's eyes darted around frantically as his mind raced with possible responses. His eyes finally settled on Otonabull.

"...If you kick me out, you'll be leaving this little guy homeless, too! And I know you don't want that." Jinmenken rested a paw on Otonabull's head.

The bulldog puffed out his cheeks. "I'm old enough to live with that," he pouted, but the faint blush across his muzzle deceived him.

Mera hummed in thought. "I guess so, but...I could just have him stay here and make you leave. You're a pretty bad influence an—"

"No!" Otonabull interrupted and jumped up, the closed laptop sliding to the floor. Realizing that both Mera and Jinmenken were staring with startled looks, he quickly coughed and folded his arms in a confident stance.

"Um, I mean...we can't afford to be separated. I keep Jinmenken-san in check."

"You do not!" Jinmenken corrected.

"Anyway..." Mera spoke, turning the attention back to him, "I can't say I'm entirely convinced, so..."

"Come on, please!" Jinmenken wailed, suddenly on his knees, his pupils wide and sparkling with desperation. "I'll be careful this time, really! Just one more chance is all I ask for!"

Mera squinted. "...Puppy eyes? Really, man?"

Jinmenken abruptly dropped the look and shrugged. "Can't say I didn't try."

Mera groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose with two fingers. While he was definitely afraid Jinmenken's presence would get somebody else hurt, he did have to admit that perhaps it wasn't quite right to send him off after just a few days. No matter how much he threatened the poodle, Gula had the final say no matter what anyway—and he'd take a lot more convincing. For now, it seemed Mera would just have to play the waiting game again.

"Fine," Mera granted, causing the middle-aged canine's face to light up, "I'll give you one more shot. No more playing around, though. Don't mess up."

"You have my word!" Jinmenken promised, leaping up to give a salute and a terse nod.

"For all of our sakes, I hope I do." Mera turned around towards the stairs. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I've gotta get back to being around people I actually want to be around. No offense, Otonabull."

"None taken," the puppy said, plopping back down to resume teaching himself how to interpret stocks. Jinmenken also flopped on top of his cushion.

"Fine with me," he said, his voice muffled due to his face being buried into the cushion. "I'll go back to being exhausted by my own mental instability or something."

And so another encounter had ended on a cautiously optimistic note. Upon returning to his friends, Mera discovered that little explanation about where he was was needed.

"Trust me, I know," Nobosetonman had claimed. "I had to go to Bukimi tribe meetings with the guy. Annoyin' as all hell, man."

Garu recovered from a massive headache after a nap, and normalcy was restored for the time being.

As Mera had assumed, the beer story barely made Gula any more wary about Jinmenken—he considered it an , right. "Accident," Mera had thought, I guess that means that illegal plane boarding was an "accident," too. Even pulling up a news article the other day about Jinmenken's criminal history hadn't deterred Gula from being overly generous, and while Mera admired his brother's massive heart, he wished just this once that it was just a little smaller.

Mera quite frequently confronted Gula about their housemate over the next couple of weeks, especially as the dog's muddy footprints began appearing on the floor and drunken wailing started ringing throughout the house at two in the morning each night, but to no avail. Mera was quite frankly getting very fed up with both Jinmenken's dishonesty and his brother's noncompliance and couldn't help but wonder when this battle would come to a close.

And sure enough, the final straw was bent on a cloudy day in front of the local Yoroz Mart.

Like most other days, Mera was returning home in the late afternoon from his intensive workout, which consisted of an hour of martial arts practice, two hours of strength training, and three full laps around the Sakura residential area. When he waltzed into his home with a towel around his shoulders, Gula was sitting at the dining room table while quite intensely scribbling things down into a checkbook and punching numbers into a calculator. Strangely enough, Otonabull sat beside him, his beady eyes following every move the crimson lion took.

"A checkbook? Man, I didn't know we had a time machine," Mera jested as he approached his brother. Gula shook his head.

"I know, right? Those dang Yo-kai World officials and their archaic requirements," he mumbled, Otonabull nodding in agreement but not peeling his eyes from the checkbook.

"So," Mera asked, propping his elbows up on the back end of a chair adjacent to his older brother, "whatcha doin'?"

"Taxes," Gula groaned, "twice a month, they want it. Crap's crazy! Even the humans don't have to cough it up that often!"

Mera hummed in acknowledgement despite not having much of an understanding of the concept besides the fact that it drove adults crazy. "Sounds intense."

"Sure is." Gula noticed Mera's glance was shifted toward Otonabull and immediately knew what his brother was going to ask, so he answered in advance.

"Jinmenken isn't home. He was gonna go with him, but then he noticed me doing this stuff and decided it was more interesting, I guess."

"So where'd Jinmenken go?" Mera inquired, though his interest was mostly faked—he was secretly quite relieved that he could forget about him for at least a short while.

"Out getting some hard stuff, probably," Otonabull suddenly piped up. Gula gave him an appalled look, surprised such a young child even knew that term. "That's what he calls it," Otonabull said in response to Gula's face.

Mera's ears and cheeks instantly droooped at the mention of what he was pretty sure was the cursed beverage that was likely the main contributor to Jinmenken's unpleasantness. He had attempted various times to get him to stop bringing more of it into the house, but ever since his own fridge had been delivered, it was almost as though the basement was becoming a wine cellar.

"Anyway," Gula said, interrupting Mera's fantasies of commissioning a dartboard with Jinmenken's face on it, "I'm glad you're home. I need a favor."

"Hm? Sure, anything," Mera replied, perking up a bit. He did take pride in performing even the most monotonous of tasks if it was for his older brother, after all.

"I forgot to pick up some milk at Yoroz Mart on the way home from work, but as you can see, I'm sort of rushing to get these done on time, so...could you stop over there real quick?"

"Gotcha!" Mera affirmed, backflipping off the chair and landing in a fighting stance, "Fresh milk, coming up."

"Was that really necessary?" Gula asked with a chuckle.

Mera beamed. "Always." He turned toward the door with a two fingered salute.

"One more thing," Gula called, causing Mera to swivel his head around.

"Just in the off chance you see Jinmenken, maybe ask him if he can come back? He's been gone for a while and I need to discuss how much extra he's paying me back for buying him furniture."

"...Sure...sure, I guess," Mera huffed before making sure he had some

money in his pockets and taking his leave. He sincerely wished the old dog would never come home.

"That last part changed his mood sort of quickly," Otonabull pointed out somewhat wistfully once the door had closed behind Mera.

Gula sighed and shook his head. "That dog's driving him doggone batty, alright."

Sakura New Town always seemed to be quite a jubilant city. Its residents cheerfully chattered away as they strolled down the streets. Like the cherry blossom trees it was named for, Sakura's downtown area especially was bright and full of life, the proverbial sun shining down on it even on a day such as this one when not a single ray of light pierced the clouds. Meramelion's mind, however, much like the weather, was overcast with anxiety—a rare occurrence for the flaming bundle of joy.

Deep inside, Mera knew his brother well enough to infer that "in the off chance you see Jinmenken" actually meant "please look around for Jinmenken", and this was not necessarily something he was thrilled about. It would be much easier to pretend he had been sent to the dog pound, Mera mused as he headed towards Yoroz Mart, but he knew he would condemn himself if he were to lie to his brother and Otonabull. So the blazing Yo-kai pressed onwards, convincing himself that his search would be brief and easy.

It was almost too easy, as Meramelion would discover as he pushed open the double doors to Yoroz Mart.

Mera's initial plan was simple enough—find the milk, pay the resident Ungaikyo that served as the middle man between Yo-kai and the human cashier (the Yo-kai's money would "magically" end up in the cash register, much to the cashier's surprise when they totaled up the day's profits at the end of their shift), and begin his dreaded search. Mera's jaw dropped when he encountered the toy poodle hunched over the counter, two paws firmly planted on the marble surface as he peered at the cashier with a vein popping out of his forehead.

"The hell do you mean, you don't sell any?!" Jinmenken yelled. The young cashier shrank back and dabbed some sweat off of his brow with his hat.

"I'm s-sorry, sir," he replied shakily, "we have never and will never carry alcohol. I'm not sure what else I can do for you."

"Bullshit!" Jinmenken slammed his fist on the counter, causing the cashier to jump. "You mean to tell me there ain't a single damn place 'round these parts that'll give me my fix when the street vendor is closed?"

"I don't know, man! I mean...maybe if you check the residential area..."

"All the way uptown? You've gotta be kidding me! Do you even know what it's like to be in withdrawl?! I feel like I'm dying! I'm already dead and I feel like I'm dying! I'm..."

Jinmenken continued to prattle on. The people behind him waiting to check out their items were getting visibly antsy—some were mumbling to themselves, others looked like they wanted to strangle the dog. Meramelion desperately wanted to intervene—do something, anything—but his feet were rooted to the floor. He could only balk at the scene before him, his cheeks reddening with embarrassment even though none of the humans could see him.

After a painful eternity, Jinmenken finally threw his hands up and stormed towards the front door, exclaiming "This city sucks!". Mera was in such shock that he barely registered the human-faced dog shoving past him. The resounding _thud_ of the doors forcefully swinging shut jolted the tangerine feline into action. Forgetting why he was in Yoroz Mart in the first place, he darted after the furious poodle. As soon as he caught up to him, he yanked him by the arm and held tight.

"Let go of me!" Jinmenken yelped, struggling against the lion's iron grip.

"Not until you get back in there and apologize for humiliating yourself!"

"I'll bite your hand off, if that's what you want!" Jinmenken threatened, still thrashing about. A small handful of bystanders had gathered around in the Yoroz parking lot, quite bewildered at the sight of a middle aged man-dog arguing with...seemingly nothing.

"Try me!" Mera rebutted, squeezing the dog's chocolate colored arm so tightly that being crushed by a hydraulic press would probably hurt less. Jinmenken was not deterred—fueled by alcohol withdrawl-driven rage, he reached over with his free appendage and gripped the arm that Mera was holding him with, pulling it towards him and exposing his fangs. Just as Jinmenken was about to sink his teeth into Mera, the lion Yo-kai wound back his other arm and punched him square in the nose. The toy poodle doubled back and clamped a paw over his nose with a howl of pain. At this point a whole crowd had gathered around the two—or one, as far as they knew—and the parking lot was abuzz with murmurs and gasps.

Mera slowly stepped towards Jinmenken, whose lungs were inflating and deflating like a balloon, a snarl bubbling within each deliberate breath he drew.

"Forget what I said," Mera ordered, "Gula needs to see you. Now." Mera's mane wavered unsteadily as he continued his approach; he felt as though he was within distance of a wild animal. Jinmenken shook his head rapidly, his floppy ears smacking his cheeks with each shake.

"No...please...just let me...get my drinks!" Suddenly, Jinmenken took off like a rocket towards the road. What he hadn't realized was that a pedestrian, seemingly a very young girl, was right behind him next to what appeared to be an older brother. Jinmenken collided with the child with such force that she was sent flying. Within a second, she was sprawled out near the edge of the road. The sound of an engine could be heard getting louder by the millisecond. Mera's heart skipped a beat.

A car came rolling down the street.

With what could only been described as superhuman reflexes powered by pure adrenaline, the toddler's teenage brother grabbed her legs and pulled her back onto the parking lot just as the car came speeding by. The girl broke down as he held her sobbing figure against his chest.

For a full minute, all eyes in the world were on Jinmenken. The looks brought his maddened rampage to a halt, as all he could do was stand there like a statue in utter disbelief at what he had almost caused.

"S-sorry..." the words were formed by his lips but not projected by his voice, which was caught in his throat. The crowd gradually began to disperse, collectively deciding that what had just went down was an accident and calling for authorities would accomplish nothing. Jinmenken barely noticed the toddler's older brother flipping him off as he took her by the hand and walked away.

Meramelion wrapped his hand around the stunned dog's arm and jerked it forcefully, then began to wordlessly drag him across the road towards the direction of their home. Jinmenken didn't protest.

Gula was quite worried when Mera trudged through the door with eyes towards the ground and Jinmenken trailing behind him. He didn't even have time to get a word in before Jinmenken was finally released from Mera's grasp; he then took a befuddled Otonabull by the paw and the two did not emerge from the basement for the rest of the night. Mera looked into his brother's wide eyes and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

Mera almost instantly retreated to his room to cool down. As it turns out, he didn't need to explain a thing to Gula—some Yo-kai friends from Gula's workplace happened to be lurking around nearby during the incident and witnessed it all, causing word to spread like wildfire. The humans weren't keeping quiet, either—as Mera would find out from Atsugaruru the next day, a description of the bizarre spectacle was broadcasted on the local news channel. Gula was too flustered to do much of anything besides buy some alcohol and make sure Jinmenken didn't leave the basement under any circumstances.

"We have to do something," Mera said to Atsugaruru for the umpteenth time as they sat side by side in his bedroom. It had been a little over a day after the scene and the lion still hadn't quite been himself, partly due to the craziness of it all and partly due to the fact that he strangely felt somewhat responsible.

Garu sighed in frustration, his head in his paws. "But the police officers are so tired of seeing his mug that they hung up on me at the mere mention of a human faced dog, and Gula clearly doesn't want to handle this..."

"There's nothing he can do. We can't just kick him out like I wanted and let him wander around on his own or he'll cause something else. He's a maniac." Mera hugged his knees to his chest.

Garu put a paw to his chin. "The only way to deal with this sort of thing is professional intervention, but he won't come out of the basement—heck, I don't think Gula wants him out, either."

Ever since the incident, Gula had been much less friendly with Jinmenken, instead falling into a state of lamentation as he silently accepted that his younger brother was quite right about the housing being a bad move. He had only ever interacted with him to supply him with drinks and sustenance when needed, lest he fall into withdrawl again. Even Otonabull was repelled from his elder, spending more time upstairs with Gula than ever before. Whenever Mera tried to discuss possible options with Gula, he would shoo him away. This put Mera at great unease—his brother was always open with him.

"If only we could, I dunno..." Garu continued, "...snap him out of this state, maybe motivate him to do something about his life." All of a sudden, Mera's head perked up.

It was like a switch went off in his mind. Motivate. Motivate. He turned towards Atsugaruru, who was caught off guard by the presence of a light in his best friend's eyes that had been gone for days.

"I can do that," Mera exclaimed with a confident grin. Noticing Garu's look of confusion, Mera suddenly jumped up and puffed out his chest.

"Like, duh! What are we sitting around here moping for? I'm the motivator! I'll whip that mutt into shape faster than Captain Bully can turn you into a bodybuilder!" He began throwing punches in the air, his mane aglow with confidence. "I'll do it if it kills me! I'll do it if it kills him! Actually, I wouldn't mind if it kills him."

Garu beamed as Mera began pacing around the room going on and on with random words of self-encouragement. His Mera was back.

"So do you have a plan?" Garu inquired, causing Mera to stop in his tracks.

"...No." Mera replied flatly. He then dashed over to Garu and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"But me and you, we'll come up with a great one! I know it!" He jumped up and down excitedly while still holding Garu's shoulders. The terrier couldn't help but laugh, joy swelling up in his heart. Mera always knew how to turn the situation around.

Unbeknownst to the both of them, Gula had his ear up against the door and was grinning widely. If he could trust anyone with a crazy, incredibly stubborn old guy living in his basement, it was his brother.

And with this mission marked the end of the battle and the beginning of what would become a war.

* * *

 **English names for this chapter:**

 **Yoroz Mart = Everymart**

 **Jinmenken = Manjimutt**

 **Nobosetonman = Sproink**

 **Asekakki = Swelton**

 **Atsugaruru = Swelterrier**

 **Murikabe = Noway**

 **Ungaikyo = Mirapo**

 **Otonabull does not have an English name yet.**

 **Also, these first two chapters were pre-written. The story is to get convoluted from here on out, so please bear with me if the writing process is a bit slow! Thank you.**


	3. Chapter 3: The Match Burns

**Sorry for the long wait. Admittedly, I'm probably the laziest author on this website. I'm gonna aim to release at least two chapters next month, since come September I'll likely be too busy to make rapid progress and I'd like to be finished before December.**

* * *

As a child, one would always be warned—perhaps by a classmate or an older sibling—never to attempt to explore the sewers. The pungent stench of moist feces, they would claim, was nowhere near the worst thing the sewers had to offer. Beasts of all kinds apparently lurked in the depths of drainage—alligators and crocodiles with beady red eyes and needle-like teeth waiting to taste the blood of an unsuspecting wanderer. Worse yet—foul monsters, sentient conglomerates of goop and gunk longing to suffocate someone with its nasty grip. Of course, at a certain age, one would stop believing these kinds of rumors. They were just meant to prevent adventurous youngsters from ending up somewhere they did not belong, after all. Or at least that's what Sakura New Town's residents thought, for deep within the city's sewage system there were indeed vile monsters—just not the kinds one would expect.

What was seemingly an ordinary wall near the exit to uptown Sakura was actually hiding the meeting place of a particularly malicious group of Yo-kai. Rumors of their presence spread quickly in the Yo-kai community, the leader's name was the only real important information leaked. That name alone was enough to send a shiver down the spines of some. Nobody knew for sure what exactly the group did and what their motives were, but all who heard of them made sure to steer clear of the sewers—better to be safe than sorry.

The "evil lair" itself was little more than a dimly lit alcove with walls that were riddled with thin cracks. The stench of sewage, while less prominent than on the other side of the wall, could still be sensed due to said cracks—the hiding place's frequenters were used to it, of course. A single Ungaikyo dozed in the corner. It, along with another specially employed Ungaikyo, was the only way in and out of the room. In the center sat a gray, bald demon with a very distinctive red beard. He was simply biding his time, seemingly waiting for something, along with two other figures. One was a midnight black, winged equestrian lying underneath the leader's floating zabuton, the other seemingly one with the shadows as only a pair of yellow eyes peaked out from the rightmost wall.

The Ungaikyo flashed briefly, calling to it the attention of the others in the room. From the Ungaikyo emerged two Yo-kai—a black-feathered avian and, beside it, a canine-like creature with a head shaped like a bean carrying a large pack.

"Welcome back," the hovering demon greeted in his scratchy voice, his natural tone similar to what one would expect to hear from a collected yet ferocious tiger. He eyed the bird. "I assume everything has been going smoothly?"

"Lord Yamimaro, I've finally dismissed the flock from that alley for good, hoo." It stifled a sinister chuckle with its wing before adding, "It is safe to say that those poor pooches will not be returning, hoo~"

"Excellent," the demon, known as Yamimaro, replied while rubbing his hands together. He shifted his gaze to the other Yo-kai, who audibly gulped as soon as their eyes met.

"And you?" Yamimaro asked.

The lion-dog Yo-kai inhaled sharply before reaching into his pack and pulling out what appeared to be a glass jar. Inside the jar was a swirling mass of purple mist which radiated with so much energy that it could make one feel oddly uneasy just by looking at it.

The pudgy creature's shaky, high-pitched voice spoke: "It was actually easier than I thought, zu—"

Upon the utterance of that last word, eight eyes staring deep into his soul snatched the last syllable out of the lion-dog's throat.

"Sorry!" he blurted out waving his paws frantically, "I—I know I promised not to say it no more, z—!"

He cleared his throat immediately. Crisis averted. He let out a slight, nervous giggle, the swirls on his cheeks now blanketed by a rosy red. Yamimaro was unamused.

"Get on with it," Yamimaro commanded, not actually raising his voice but threatening the new recruit with a snarl hidden in his words.

"R-right!" the small Yo-kai stammered. "Um, it was really easy, getting that there negative energy from him. All I had to do was show him some really sad movies and VHS recordings of western politicians. That done got him riled up real quick."

"Excellent," Yamimaro said with a sinister grin. From the wall came a faint chuckle, causing Yamimaro to whip his head around towards the source of the noise. A startled squeak came from the pair of yellow eyes within the wall, now revealed to belong to a sentient, cyan scroll with a yellow scarf as they poked their head out.

"Now, Kaimu," Yamimaro said sharply, causing said scroll to flinch, "how did _your_ mission go?"

"Um, well..." Kaimu answered, their voice airy and soft, "about that, it...could've gone better?"

Kaimu ended with an anxious titter, earning a low growl from Yamimaro.

"And just what is _that_ supposed to mean?" Yamimaro's words solicited a tiny shriek from the cyan ninja.

"S-sorry, my lord! I've been spying for weeks, but...nothing!"

" _Nothing_!" Yamimaro roared, and Kaimu came tumbling forward out of the wall with shock, their whole form exposed once they stood up. The rest of their body was mostly black in the front and their long tail faded into a puddle-shaped shadow on the floor.

"Nope. Not a drop. Zero. Zilch. Nada." Kaimu's speech was hurried.

Yamimaro groaned, slapping a palm to his hairline-free forehead. "This is impossible. A couple of weeks with that unbearable mutt would have driven anybody else to produce fifty jars worth of energy!" He slowly rubbed his beard with his thumb and forefinger. "The lion child is tougher than I thought..."

"Well, did you really expect collecting negativity from the most blindly optimistic Yo-kai would be _easy?_ " Came a low, suave voice from the floor. The black Pegasus finally arose with a yawn, stretching its rose red wings.

"Shut it. Nobody asked you," Yamimaro hissed. The horse, known as Uma, scoffed.

"Um, anyway," Kaimu offered before a fight broke out, "From what I've observed, I'm under the impression that we won't be getting anything out of him unless we make him feel totally hopeless about setting the canine straight...or killing him off. If that's even possible. Y'know, Yo-kai. Wait, can't Yo—"

"A sound observation," Yamimaro cut them off, "but what is it that we can do to worsen the situation?"

"If you don't mind me speaking, Your Highness," said Uma with a derisive sneer, "I have a suggestion."

Yamimaro sighed with disgust. "Fine, go on, then."

"If perhaps we permanently cut off that Jinmenken bastard's alcohol supply, things will get even harder to handle, no? An invasion is in order, perhaps?"

Yamimaro hummed. "I like it. Not bad, horse-breath," he admitted begrudgingly. Uma flashed a victorious, green-toothed smile.

"You-hoo mentioned a raid?" came the voice of the bird, who proudly patted a wing to its chest, "I'd be honored, hoo~."

"I trust that you'll be capable of carrying this out successfully, Shinigamidori. If it isn't a hassle, get going," approved the leader. The bird gave a salute and leapt back through the Ungaikyo. "As for the rest of you..." Yamimaro turned to Kaimu.

"Get back to surveillance as soon as possible. We'll need as many status updates as you can handle. The little mule will stay here with me."

"Lovely," Uma said dryly.

"Um, lord?" the hesitant voice of the newcomer called out, "Ain't nothing I can do, is there?"

"Go home. Keep in contact with Kaimu if you can and let us know if you have any ideas," Yamimaro ordered, making eye contact for a brief moment before flickering his eyes away to glance at the jar his subordinate was holding. "And leave that here."

"Aye!" the lion-dog gave an affirmative nod and left through the Ungaikyo as well. As he departed from the scene, the sensation of a pit in his stomach—a feeling which had been occurring frequently over the past weeks—briefly overcame him. But it was too late to change now—he'd have to convince himself that he was doing was the best thing. So what if his brother didn't know? Yamimaro had promised to give him something he wanted above anything else, and it's not like what he was doing was bad. He was independent now—he knew who he could trust.

Right?

"...So you're sure that didn't help any?"

"Yes," Jinmenken snapped, crossing his arms indignantly and turning away from Meramelion, who had suddenly popped into the canine's room after over 24 hours of awkward silence between the two of them. To make matters worse, he'd have to deal with him alone—Otonabull had decided to tag along with Gulagulion at his job for the day, which definitely did not help Jinmenken's self esteem. Mera had been showering Jinmenken with various motivational words and speeches—many of which had been spoken by his eldest brother, whom he made sure to praise endlessly every time he quoted him—for what seemed like an eternity. Jinmenken, frankly, was having none of it.

"This seriously makes no god damn sense," the poodle complained, "for the last two weeks you've been appalled at the thought of just having to look at me, and now you're here trying to _befriend_ me?"

"Oh, no no no. I don't want to be your friend. Let's make that clear. However..." Mera proudly thumped his chest with his fist, "as the blazing Yo-kai of encouragement, it's my sworn duty to restore lost vigor to everyone in the world! And that includes you. So there."

"Yeah, well, whatever you're trying ain't gonna work. So I'd suggest you'd beat it."

Mera raised an eyebrow. "So...you _want_ to be lonely and miserable for the remainder of your afterlife?"

"No! That's not what I said, ash-for-brains!" Jinmenken huffed, sticking out his lower lip. He then let out a dejected sigh. "It's just...why bother? I tried to get out and do something with myself, you know, and where did that land me? Alcatraz." He threw up his arms in defeat. "So I'm done trying. I'll be as happy as I'm gonna get this way."

Mera winced throughout his entire speech—words like these physically pained him. Ugh. So much for the last 45 minutes. Perhaps it was time to initiate plan B...

"Well, if you're gonna have _that_ sort of attitude, what are you living for?" Mera pointed out.

"I ask myself that a lot," replied Jinmenken, now had flopped down onto his pillow and was now lying stomach-up with his limbs spread, "but the fact of the matter is that I can't die, so there's no point in wondering." He chuckled bitterly. "And believe me, if I could die again permanently, I wouldn't be here right now. Damn blonde guy and his stupid lying face..."

"Uh..." Mera wasn't quite sure where this was going.

"Huh? Oh, right. Sorry, you wouldn't know about that. Anyway..." Jinmenken rolled over onto his side and propped his head up on his paw, "I'm kindly asking you to get out so I can take a nap."

"Another one?" Mera questioned. "How do you spend so much of your day sleeping?"

Jinmenken rolled over to face him and shrugged. "Not like I have much else to do besides drink and lament all of the missed opportunities in my life. Though on occasion, Otonabull shows me some dumb videos from that Yo-Tube thing and..."

As the old dog was speaking, Mean ra took the opportunity to steal a glance towards the door at the top of the staircase, from which his pointy-eared, red friend was watching intently. The terrier gave a nod and waved a paw towards Jinmenken, signaling Mera to go forward. Mera nodded back and bore a confident grin.

"Hey!" Jinmenken barked, calling Mera's attention back to him, "if you're gonna ask me random questions, listen for the answer, will ya! What are you looking at, anyway?"

"Hm? Ah, nothing. Just..." suddenly, Mera gasped dramatically and pointed towards the back of the room. "Look there!"

"What?" Jinmenken said, sitting up and swiveling his head around to check. His countenance scrunched up in confusion. "I don't see anyth—"

At that moment, Jinmenken's sight flashed yellow for a split second. His heart began to beat rapidly as raw adrenaline surged through his system. He realized what was going on immediately, but it was already too late—he barely had time to register it before his conscious mind was shut down.

Atsugaruru came flying down the stairs, his cloak fluttering behind him. "Looks like it worked!"

Mera pumped a fist in the air triumphantly. "Sure did! Now that he's energized, let's get him upstairs!"

Mera and Garu approached the canine from the front, who was still sitting on the pillow with all four paws on the ground, vibrating intensely. The two each extended an arm towards him, and...

With a deafening yip, Jinmenken propelled himself with his legs and leapt over the two of them, causing both of them to yelp in shock. Barking wildly as he went, he did a few laps around the room and almost ran straight into the wall a few times in the process. Garu chased after him to try to pin him down and redirect his attention, but couldn't even so much as gaze his matted fur with his paw. Atsugaruru halted after the fifth lap, panting with his paws on his knees.

"Mera...I think...your possession...worked a little too well..." Garu puffed. Mera, dizzied from watching the two other Yo-kai run around in circles, opened his mouth to speak but couldn't think of anything to say. Just then, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Jinmenken darting towards...the mini-fridge?

"What's he doing?" Garu asked anxiously, also taking note of the poodle's strange behavior. He was now rummaging through the fridge and pulling out every beer in the fridge—which, considering the fact that there were so many Mera was afraid the fridge would burst open, was around fifty— then carefully placing them behind him into a pile. Mera and Garu exchanged bewildered looks as the fridge door snapped shut and Jinmenken forcefully slid head first into the mound of beers like a child playing in autumn leaves, followed by the sound of cracking glass as a few of the bottles in the middle broke. He was submerged for a brief second until his head and torso emerged from the pile, his face covered in thin scratches from the glass and his ears dripping wet with beer. His tongue lolled out of his mouth as he panted excitedly and his tail was but a green blur. He reached for the drink closest to him and popped it open. Without even withdrawing his tongue, he tilted his head bag and poured the whole bottle down his throat in one go. Once he was done with it, he chucked it over to the side of the room opposite Mera and Garu, shattering it.

Garu couldn't help but bend over and burst into laughter as Jinmenken went for another beer and did the same thing. Mera, however, stood there in utter shock as his rival picked up another. And another. And another.

"Uh...how many more is he gonna drink?" Mera asked with a hint of worry as Jinmenken moved on to another drink.

"What?" Garu responded in between shallow breaths taken in order to cease his laughter. When he stood up straight and noticed the steadily decreasing pile, his eyes widened. "Wait, seriously?"

"Seriously!" Mera exclaimed, putting his hands on the other's shoulders and turning him towards him. "Why isn't he stopping?"

Garu looked down at the floor nervously. "I, uh...I don't..." he briefly looked back at the pile, now at least half depleted, then at Mera, then back at the floor, then at the pile again. In the time he was shifting his glance around, another two beers had been consumed.

A bead of sweat rolled down Garu's forehead. "Okay, maybe we should stop him."

Without another word, Mera dashed over to Jinmenken and attempted to reach under his arms and hoist him up. Unfortunately, he slipped on one of the beers at the bottom of the pile and landed face first onto some bottles. He luckily didn't break any of the bottles he landed on as the impact was light, but the bottle he slipped on was sent rolling towards the wall and broke, loose shards of glass just barely missing Garu. The lion was unharmed, but struggled desperately to get his footing, so Garu rushed over to lift him up and away from the pile. During that time, another five beers had been downed.

"This isn't good..." Garu remarked, one arm around Mera's shoulders and the other supporting him by the abdomen. Mera shot his head up to take a look and noticed that the rate at which Jinmenken was drinking was beginning to slow a little and he occasionally missed his mouth by a small margin, sending beer trickling onto the floor. Mera's stomach churned.

"Oh, God," Garu said, "this is totally not good." Mera's breaths became heavy.

"Enough!" the blazing Yo-kai shouted, snapping his fingers in a desperate attempt to lift the possession, but to no avail—the fire in Jinmenken's eyes burned on. He seemed to have lost control over the effects of his own possession—a rare phenomenon during which the possession energy becomes separate from the possessing Yo-kai's soul and attached to the possessed's until it wears off on its own.

"Agh! Why now?!" Mera roared. It appeared as though the pile had diminished enough so that one could see all of Jinmenken's body. He was now struggling to even get half a bottle in his mouth and his head was visibly wavering, but he still did not cease his drinking. Mera, now released from Garu, started over in Jinmenken's direction again, but was quickly stopped by Garu's paw on his shoulder.

"It's too much of a mess to get through there, and by the time we get to him, it'll be too late." Mera opened his mouth to protest, but quickly stopped himself when he realized just how right his friend was. Empty bottles littered the floor and spilled beer was collected around the bottles in the middle that had shattered. The wall opposite Mera was a treasure trove of broken glass and beer seemed to be spreading out towards the center of the room as it soaked into the carpet.

Mera turned towards Garu. "Well, there must be _something_ we ca—"

Mera was interrupted by a sudden _thud_.

The fiery duo winced at the sound. Shock turned to dread as Mera slowly turned around to view the scene, Garu peering over his shoulder.

In the middle of the room, accompanied by only two unopened bottles, was Jinmenken, completely unconscious.

Following one long, sharp breath, Mera began screaming intensely, causing Garu to jump three feet in the air. Preferring to have his eardrums intact by the end of the day, Garu put his paw under Mera's chin and pushed upwards to close his long jaw. Mera's vocal cords still continued to vibrate, however, causing an elongated high-pitched squealing to come from his throat instead.

"Mera! Mera, bro, hush! Calm down!" Garu snapped, causing the lion to grab Garu's wrist and forcefully push it off of his chin. Mera took a few swigs of air before shouting:

"There's a passed-out old guy lying in a puddle of booze in the middle of my basement and you want me to _calm down_?!"

"Well, screaming isn't gonna get us anywhere!" Garu argued. "We should see what kind of mess we're looking at here."

With a bit of effort, Garu shook himself loose from Mera's grip and cautiously approached Jinmenken. Mera trailed behind carefully as though the two of them were wading through the scene of a nuclear explosion. As they drew closer to the center of the room, their feet were pricked with what seemed to be some broken glass, prompting them to continue on tiptoes.

When the two of them finally reached Jinmenken, they noticed that one arm was crossed over his chest, the other extended outwards, and his legs were facing forward with his knees turned away from each other. His head lolled to one side and his mouth hung open. Mera recoiled at the sight of the brown-tainted liquid caking Jinmenken's muzzle and the sound of saliva being gurgled in his throat as he breathed sent a shiver down his spine.

Garu groaned and put his paws over his eyes. "I can't believe this just happened."

Mera shook his head frustratedly. "I know my possession can only motivate people to do what's already on their mind, but...is this _seriously_ all he thinks about?"

"I doubt it," Garu responded, "he's probably just in a bad mood today. Or at least a worse mood than usual. Maybe if we try another time when he's in a more positive state of mind..."

"Forget it," Mera sighed, "I haven't even seen him smile once in the few weeks he's been here. We're gonna have to figure out another way to get him moving."

"Fair enough," Garu said, "I guess we'd better focus on cleaning this mess up before—"

As if the two hadn't dealt with enough unfortunate occurrences for the day, the squeaking sound of the front door opening came from upstairs.

Mera and Garu's features contorted into looks of pure terror.

"Never mind," Garu said flatly, "we're screwed."

Panicked and not sure what to do, the two of them simply stood there in silence.

"Mera!" came Gulagulion's booming voice from upstairs, "Mera, are you home?"

"No!" Mera called, sweating profusely. He didn't realize how boneheaded of a move that was until he noticed Garu narrowing his eyes at him. Mera threw his hands up in defense.

"Hey, you know I can't think things through at times like this."

"Are you in the basement?" Gula called out, with a hint of disbelief in his voice, his and Otonabull's footsteps making the ceiling above Mera and Garu creak.

"N—!" Mera almost shouted, but was stopped by Garu's paw over his mouth, preventing him from repeating his mistake. Unfortunately, it was too little, too late: before they knew it, the two of them could see Gula standing at the top of the staircase.

"Hey, you two! What's—"

Gula's pupils contracted instantly when he noticed his distressed-looking brother and his equally panicked best friend standing side by side in front of what appeared to be the disheveled form of his housemate lying in a sea of beer and broken glass.

"What the _hell_ is this?" Gula asked sharply. Otonabull tried to take a peek from behind him, but Gula held his arm out in front of him.

Mera began frantically waving both his arms up and down. "We, um...I...I can explain!" he cried and began to try to tell the story, but Garu cut in over him multiple times. What ended up reaching Gula's ears was a cacophony of incoherent babbling and yelling.

"Both of you, be _quiet_!" Gula bellowed, immediately silencing the both of them. He instructed Otonabull to stay put (he mumbled "What, am I not mature enough to handle this?" under his breath) and came thundering down the stairs to get a look for himself. Upon taking it all in for a few seconds, he sighed heavily.

"Look, I'm not in the mood to have to figure out what happened based on random shouting, so we'll talk later when the atmosphere has cooled down a bit. In the meantime, I'lll get to cleaning this mess up."

"I'll help!" Garu exclaimed, and shot up the stairs to grab cleaning supplies. While Garu was doing that, Gula stepped in closer to get a good look at Jinmenken. He furrowed his eyebrows in disgust.

"He looks like he's dying," he said.

"I hope he is," Mera remarked, earning him an annoyed "that's not helping" look from Gula.

"Sorry," Mera muttered, looking down at his feet.

"Whatever. Help me haul him upstairs." Gula ordered. "I want you to watch him while Garu and I are cleaning up. Keep Otonabull with you, too, at least for a few minutes so it's not so dangerous in here."

"So your solution to remedying a situation caused by me being alone in a room with Jinmenken is to put me alone in a room with Jinmenken?" Mera quipped.

Gula rolled his eyes. "Dude."

"Alright, sorry. Just trying to lighten the mood..." Mera murmured. As he bent down to grab both of Jinmenken's legs (he decided he'd need to furiously wash his hands after this), he couldn't help but wonder if he truly was only kidding.

Needless to say, when Jinmenken woke up on the living room couch thirty minutes later, he was none too pleased to hear about what had happened. It wasn't because he was worried for his health, however—being a Yo-kai, even though he was technically half organic, he'd fully recover from any alcohol-induced illnesses within a day's time. Rather, what really set him off was the fact that he had emptied the fridge.

"You mean there's _none_ left?" the human-faced dog asked Mera in disbelief, to which the blazing Yo-kai replied dryly:

"You haven't drunken enough in the last hour to last you a couple of months?"

"I don't think you quite understand how addiction works, especially when there are little to no long-term physical consequences," Jinmenken remarked.

Mera narrowed his eyes at the poodle. "Yeah, well—"

He was interrupted by Otonabull, who was sitting on the arm of the couch by Jinmenken's feet, clearing his throat loudly. Mera and Jinmenken both looked at him with eyebrows raised.

"Sorry," Otonabull apologized, rubbing the back of his head, "I just didn't want to listen to that debate again."

"Alright, alright, fine..." Mera grumbled. He took a deep breath.

"In any case, I guess we should be glad Gula was willing to help clean up—"

"We should be grateful?" Jinmenken snapped, "You mean you should be grateful. I didn't do anything—you were the one in control of my actions."

Mera wanted to rebut, but kept his mouth shut—he had to admit that this was his responsibility. He nodded acceptingly.

"I'll give you that. Still, I was only trying to help you."

"Well, some help you were, then," Jinmenken spat. Mera was taken aback by the bitter comment and scoffed.

"What was that for? I don't have to be nice to you now that Gula knows you're trash, you know..."

"Good. Don't be 'nice' to me. I'd prefer it that way." Jinmenken sat up dizzily and clutched his forehead.

"I've got a headache. I'm gonna go take a nap outside. I need some fresh air."

"You can't just diss me and then go crash on my lawn, dude!" Mera balked.

"Actually, it's our lawn," Jinmenken replied smugly with the faintest of smirks.

"Are you seriously playing that card?" Mera said, followed by a long sigh. He threw his hands up in defeat.

"You know what? Forget it. Do what you want, smelly man. I'm gonna go help my brother." He then exited the room without another word.

"I'll go too," Otonabull said, hopping off of the arm of the couch.

"Of course you will," Jinmenken remarked, not realizing he had thought aloud until the bulldog turned to him with an offended-looking face.

"Are all adults as mean to people as you are sometimes?" Otonabull asked sincerely, though his hurt tone may have made it sound sarcastic. Jinmenken was silent for a few seconds before answering with a sigh.

"I...I don't know," he said, sounding slightly dejected, "go ask Gula, huh?"

His response, he realized with regret much later, may have stung a bit more than he intended it to have, as Otonabull simply huffed and headed towards the basement without a peep. The fact of the matter was, though, he was being semi-serious.

He didn't really know what the world was like anymore.

The rest of the afternoon went by veiled in an almost eerie silence between the felines and the canines. Garu headed for home shortly after the mess was cleaned (they didn't do the greatest job; as Jinmenken would painfully discover, there were a couple of small shards of glass that weren't picked up and the carpet still reeked of alcohol). Amazingly, Gula didn't jump down Mera's throat—he barely even raised his voice.

"Honestly," he had said to his younger brother with a yawn, "I don't have enough energy in me today to get mad over something this small. I've got too much else to handle."

"...What does that mean?" Mera inquired, concern in his voice.

"It means I feel like I'm taking care of some needy toddler," Gula responded with a melancholy chuckle.

Mera frowned. His own discomfort about the Jinmenken situation had almost made him forget that his brother was stressed out, too, what with the fact that he had to constantly provide him with sustenance, babysit his surrogate child, and basically pry money out of the increasingly despondent poodle. Now that he thought about it, perhaps innocent Otonabull was suffering as well trying to deal with the fact that his best friend was marginally more bitter than he was a few weeks ago. Garu, too—Mera's brother in all aspects but blood—was now involved in the whole ordeal as well.

The blazing Yo-kai clenched his fists. Today might have been a failure, but for the sake of his friends and family, he could not give up. He'd uplift that dreaded dog's mood if it was the last thing he did.

The next day came with some harrowing news: the street stand was closed.

Although the stand was really meant to be a place where one could sit down and eat or drink, the vendor was alright with selling commodities to go. He did, however, find the dark-skinned, crimson-haired man who had recently began buying the same type of beer in large quantities every few days to be a bit peculiar. Indeed, Gula, disguise leaf in tow, relied on the street vendor to provide him with Jinmenken's alcohol—partly because there weren't any other alcohol vendors within walking distance of his home and partly because Jinmenken was so used to the vendor's brand in particular that Gula was afraid to switch him to something else.

And suddenly, without a moment's notice, the vendor was gone. Gula first found out when he went out to stop there as usual on the way to work and instead found an abandoned stand with a sign taped on the front saying "closed indefinitely". His work buddies later informed him that it was because of a Yo-kai attack—according to the New Yo-kai Times, an unidentified group of Yo-kai that were allegedly avian-like spirits had been terrorizing the place for the last couple of nights, scaring away customers and upsetting the vendor. Out of fear that the area or the stand itself was permanently haunted by some paranormal force, the vendor closed it down.

Gula returned with no alcohol that day, and Jinmenken, beginning to get antsy, spent a solid few hours pacing his room and mumbling to himself. Otonabull, not wanting to deal with the behavior, left for a while to go possess people in town. Gula didn't tell Jinmenken outright that the street stand was closed—he was too afraid of his reaction.

Mera, meanwhile, seemed to take the development—which Gula had explained to him in detail—better than anyone else in the household. For now, he realized, Jinmenken had zero access to alcohol. With no alcohol in the house and no way to resupply it, a repeat of the previous day was impossible.

Now would be the perfect time for attempt number two.

Mera's plan had holes. He had no way to tell what Jinmenken was thinking about—who knows what another possession would do to him? But Mera was desperate, and a determined Mera almost always made for an impulsive Mera. Thus, the unreliability of his own plan flew right over his head as he once again headed towards the basement.

Mera cracked open the door as slowly as possible in order to avoid being caught by Jinmenken. Fortunately for him, the misery-ridden Yo-kai seemed to be curled up in his bed sleeping—or at least trying to fall asleep, as Mera, now standing on the top step, could just barely hear him muttering to himself fitfully. The young lion took in as deep a breath as he could manage, knotting his eyebrows as he focused on the brown-furred heap. He knew he told Garu he wouldn't use possession again, but...an untamable urge to take this opportunity nagged at his ferocious heart. He had to do it. His red and yellow irises glowed like lanterns as he conjured up a swirling yellow flare in the palm of his hand.

With a flick of the wrist, he sent the flame spiraling towards Jinmenken.

Once the possession took effect, Jinmenken instantly leapt in the air like a frog and, once he landed back on the floor, came barreling up the stairs. Mera grinned—he was finally coming out of the basement! Now all he'd have to do was sit him down and pep-talk him in this state, right?

Jinmenken started to bark loudly when he reached Mera, prompting the feline to clamp one hand over his mouth. Mera tried to shush him as he whined gutturally.

"That's it, that's it...good dog..." Mera said in an attempt to get him to listen, although he felt physical illness after calling his adversary a "good dog" out loud. The whimpering died down a bit, and Mera thought he had gotten his attention and loosened his grip.

Big mistake.

Jinmenken, now given leeway, forcefully chomped down on Mera's hand, causing him to let out a brief howl in pain. He clenched his wounded appendage shut into a fist in an attempt to relieve the sting slightly with pressure, then reached to grab the dog by the neck. Jinmenken pounced onto him, knocking him down and making him hit his head on the door, then bounding forward towards the main living area. Gula, who was watching TV on the couch, jumped up with a start when he noticed Jinmenken scrambling towards the front door.

"What the—!" Gula gasped as Mera, despite the throbbing in his head, shot up and pursued the canine. By the time he had reached the living room, the front door had already swing open. Gula, eyes widened, turned towards him.

"Mera, what happ—"

"I'll explain later!" Mera responded breathlessly, advancing towards the door with all the speed he could muster.

"Meramelion!" came Gula's desperate cry, but Mera was already outside, his bare feet pounding the pavement, and he didn't once look back. His eyes were locked on one thing—the chocolate-colored blur now a good few yards or so away from him.

Mera's mind raced as he followed Jinmenken, who was much too far away from him to have the possession lifted. He was still trying to process how quickly everything had happened, wondering what had gone wrong—and most importantly, where Jinmenken was going. As Mera weaved around cars that couldn't see him but had to slow down for Jinmenken in the middle of the business district, it hit him.

Gula hadn't told Jinmenken about the street vendor. He was going to get beer.

Mera forced his calf muscles to make his legs move faster than wheels as a scenario played out in his mind—Jinmenken literally tearing apart the wooden stand, looking for any traces of his drink, perhaps even pouncing on anyone that tried to stop him. What had happened the other day was more than enough—he had to stop him. Now.

The gap between the lion and the poodle was slowly becoming smaller. Mera didn't know exactly where the street vendor was, but he could infer that they were drawing nearer based on Jinmenken's excited yips. Pedestrians screamed as the canine barreled past them, almost knocking them over. Mera apologized to each and every one compulsively despite the fact that they could not hear or see him.

Finally, a brown speck just barely came into view—Mera assumed it to be the abandoned stand. He panicked as the world around him seemed to meld into one large blur, nearby trees becoming but green blobs—

Wait.

Trees.

Mera had an idea.

Using his natural tree climbing abilities, Mera swerved off to the side and scaled up a tree at breakneck speeds until he found a branch to stand on. Imagining his legs were springs, he jumped off, managing to not break the branch due to his inherent catlike dexterity when it came to shifting his weight while pouncing. By aiming his body diagonally and due to the fact that he was high in the air, he was able to cover enough distance to catch up to Jinmenken. And by some miracle, he landed directly on top of him, his feet hitting the dog's back and sending him face first onto the ground. Mera heard a crack—presumably Jinmenken's glasses—but paid it no mind as he straddled him and snapped his fingers. A yellow aura immediately illuminated Jinmenken's body and then evaporated just as quickly.

Jinmenken, now thrusted back into the world of consciousness, had no idea what was going on.

The first thing he felt was his forehead on cold, rough concrete, then a stinging pain in his nose. Just as he was trying to fathom the fact that he was magically face down on the street, he was flipped over onto his back. His vision was slightly blurred—it was them that he felt the back of his head resting on his broken glasses—but he could still make out the bright, simmering mane of a heavily panting Meramelion, the pink and orange sky its backdrop.

"What the hell..." he murmured, wondering if he had somehow gotten drunk—then he remembered that there was no alcohol in the house anyway. His head began to spin.

He noticed Mera's lips moving, but his ears were ringing to loudly to hear anything.

"What..." he muttered.

"I said, are you okay?" Mera replied, much louder this time—loud enough to truly bring Jinmenken back into reality. He blinked a few times.

"I...no, probably not." He turned his head to his right. A couple of passerby had stopped momentarily to stare at him, but after getting a close look, took off—the human-faced dog was a bit infamous after the recent incident in front of Yoroz Mart, and nobody really wanted to be alone with him.

Jinmenken felt pressure being lifted from his chest. He looked up again and noticed that Mera had gotten off of him. He sat up shakily, suddenly realizing just how out of breath he was—did he run all the way here? He looked around some more and noticed the street stand a few yards away—yet nobody seemed to be there. What was happening...?

"You've got a lot of explaining to do," Jinmenken remarked, making eye contact with Mera, who was kneeling in front of him, an embarrassed blush spread across his cheeks. Mera inhaled deeply.

"Well, you see..."

And so he described to Jinmenken the whole story as briefly as he could, Jinmenken somehow managing to understand his fast speech. The dog's mouth hung open almost the entire time.

"So you're meaning to tell me..." he said incredulously, "that suddenly there's no beer in all of downtown, and you possessed me again."

Mera nodded abashedly.

Jinmenken sighed. "Didn't I tell you to—"

"Leave you alone! Yes, I know." Mera held his hands up in front of him defensively. "I just couldn't help it, okay? Everyone's having a hard time because of this whole thing and it was starting get to me...I couldn't help myself."

Jinmenken raised an eyebrow. "And what, pray tell, made you think that another possession would work?"

"...I wasn't thinking," Mera admitted.

"Exactly," Jinmenken huffed.

"Look," Mera said, "I'm really sorry—"

"No you're not."

Mera was taken aback. "What?"

"If you were sorry, you would've given up after Yoroz Mart. Hell, you would've given up before Yoroz Mart. All I want is some damn peace!"

"But you're never in peace at all! You're constantly dealing with your own mental instabilities!"

"That's better than being thrust into multiple humiliating instances in the middle of the damn city!"

The air around the two of them became hotter as Mera's mane burned in anger. "I had nothing to do with the first one! If anything, I _stopped_ you from making an even bigger fool out of yourself!"

"Maybe that's what you intended, but it sure didn't work out that way!"

Mera growled fiercely, standing up and leaning over the still-sitting poodle.

"You know what? You're a darned ingrate! I hate your guts and I'm still here trying to make you less miserable, yet all you do is shut me down! I don't understand you!"

"Because I don't need your help. I don't need anyone's help. I told you, I'm done with the world. I screwed up too hard—it's pointless."

"Life is never pointless! If you believe y—"

"Enough with the proverbial bull!" Jinmenken jumped up and screamed louder than Mera had ever heard him scream since he'd known him, causing the lion to flinch. The canine came so close to Mera's face that he could feel his angered breaths. "Just stop, okay?! That's all I ask of you! Stop wasting your god damn time and stop being an annoying. Little. Shit!"

Mera simply stood there speechless, jaw agape. Those last three words made his heart sink deep, deep down and drop into his stomach like a rock.

"I'm going home now. And don't think I'll be the one trying to explain this to your brother," bending down to snatch up his now lens-less and bent glasses and then stomping off past him. Mera barely registered it. He was simply frozen.

Perhaps Jinmenken was right after all—he should stop trying to save him.

There was nothing good about him to be salvaged, anyway.

* * *

 **This chapter's English name index:**

 **Yamimaro = Awevil**

 **Kaimu = Nul**

 **Shinigamidori = Skreek**

 **Uma = Neighfarious**

 **Next chapter should be on the shorter side; after that is when things get REALLY intense. Oh boy, if you thought the tension was high already, wait until you see what I've got in mind.**


	4. Chapter 4: Match Approaches Oil Well

**Oh hey, a chapter before the halfway point of the month! Maybe I can really get out another this month...?**

* * *

A cold sense of dread hung over Mera's head.

He wasn't quite sure what to do after the initial shock of what had been said to him. Being the bundle of sunshine that he was, despair was an emotion he very rarely felt, and it was possibly the most uncomfortable feeling he had ever experienced. His heart had been wrung out like a towel fresh out of the wash; usually white hot and swelled with joy, it now felt flimsy and weak like a leaf being helplessly carried away by a chilly winter breeze. It made him feel sick to his stomach. He knew for a fact that he couldn't bear to face his brother like this—and certainly not the wretched canine that had landed him here in the first place.

Or had _he_ been the one to drag himself into this mess?

He didn't really know.

What he did know is that he needed to get the fire inside of him started again. He needed some firewood. And that firewood came as a trip to the gym; he trudged there with the sun setting behind him and would later come out with the moon hanging overhead and shedding light on the pitch black sky. He worked and worked and worked—bench-pressed as though he was lifting the dead weight of gloom from his chest, ran on the treadmill as though he was dashing away from his worries, and made himself sweat as though all the horrible feelings would pour out from his body. And as he finally headed towards home, he felt just a little bit better, as thought the pumping of his physical heart set off his emotional heart as well. Perhaps the fire never died out after all—it just needed to be rekindled. And so he approached his front door with just the slightest swell of confidence, ready to take on whatever else was in store.

Mera felt himself become smothered in his brother's fluffy chest almost as soon as he swung open the door. When Gula finally let him breathe again, Mera noticed tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. The younger lion tried to stammer out some words—an apology, an explanation, anything—but all that came out was a random series of sounds. Gula shushed him by putting a finger to his lips.

"I don't want to hear it," Gula said, choking back sobs. "I'm just glad you're alright. You were gone so long, I was worried sick..."

Mera sniffled. His vision blurred slightly. Was he really about to cry in front of his brother?

"Did...did he tell you what...what happened?" Mera managed.

"Not anything useful." Gula shook his head sadly. "He just came in here muttering like a madman and stormed off to his room when I tried to talk to him."

Mera saw a tear drop to the floor as Gula took in a shaky breath, stifling a sob.

"I'm...I'm worried about him, little bro," Gula said hoarsely, "but I'm mostly worried about you."

The tears slid freely down Mera's cheeks now. He couldn't remember the last time his brother was seriously concerned about him.

"I'm gonna be okay," Mera sobbed, "I'm gonna be..."

Mera looked into his brother's eyes, sparkling with tears. To see his brother so distressed...it filled him with a sense of determination that had been missing for the past few hours, even after his trip to the gym. He couldn't let some silly old drunkard bring him down. He would fight and he would win. Mera flashed as wide a smile as he could manage.

"I'm gonna be alright!" Mera shouted, his voice still shaking from crying but his eyes aglow with pride, "I'm gonna do everything I can to make things better! I promise!"

The smallest of simpers crossed Gula's face. "Little bro..."

To Gula's surprise, Mera had already gone past him and towards his room.

"I'll come up with something! Just you wait!" Mera called and then continued out of view. Gula sighed and wiped his eyes with his arm.

"Please..." Gula whispered, "please just be wise about this."

If only Mera had heard that last part.

Mera didn't get a wink of sleep that night as he deliberated his next move. The usual noise coming from the basement—Jinmenken yelling at himself or arguing with Otonabull, the latter of which had unfortunately become more frequent over the last few days—only fueled his desire to come up with the perfect plan. He knew for a fact that showing Jinmenken compassion was no longer an option—he needed to find a way to get the canine out of the house for good. The problem was that he couldn't think of a way to get away with it besides using possession, which very clearly was a bad idea...

Wait. Possession was a bad idea...when it was used on Jinmenken.

Mera worked furiously, outlining everything he would do and say—or at least in the best way that he could, because despite being equivalent to an adolescent human in age, his handwriting was on par with that of a toddler's. Once all was said and done, the trash can by his bedside was overflowing with crumpled up papers and the sun was already peeking out over the horizon. Mera wiped sweat off of his brow as he proudly looked over his completed outline one last time. The feline's mane blazed so hotly that one could probably use it to melt an entire glacier within a minute. A toothy grin spread across his cheeks.

He was sure this plan would not fail.

Perhaps a little too sure.

And so, at approximately eight o'clock in the morning, Mera rushed out the door, his stomach slightly upset from wolfing his breakfast down, but it didn't bother him. Gula had headed off to work hours ago, not even aware that Mera was awake at that time and more fired up than he had been in his time as a Yo-kai (which is saying a lot). For a brief moment, Mera felt a twinge of guilt—he had caused quite a bit of trouble lately while not under the supervision of his older brother, and perhaps another ruckus would sever the trust between them. But then Mera recalled Gula's face from the night before, contorted into an expression of worry, and dismissed such thoughts immediately. This was for the best.

The nearest Ungaikyo was inside the construction site, which Mera frequented because there was a significant amount of open space to run around in and explore. It used to be closed to humans (and Yo-kai that couldn't go through walls or fit in tight spaces) during the daytime, but the city officials prohibited the site from being worked on due to a large amount of complaints from residents tired of the constant noise. It didn't help that downtown Sakura's public works department was rather irresponsible; there had been multiple instances of stray parts lying around town—stacks of heavy, wooden planks, for example, which had curiously been linked to the disappearances of at least two people. Mera always wondered who it was that was unfortunate enough to possibly be killed by planks of all things. Someone he knew, perhaps? No, that was silly. The whole thing was probably a myth, anyway.

So of course, given that whole situation, the site was now completely abandoned, making it fairly easy for nearby Yo-kai to travel using the Ungaikyo network. On this day, Mera would use it to travel to the heart and soul of the Yo-kai World, Yokyo. A lively, almost surreal city decked out in red, gold, and other bright colors, with strange looking cars and talking traffic lights on every corner. It truly was a city befitting of hundreds of mysterious creatures. The blazing Yo-kai requested of the Ungaikyo to be sent straight to the center of the city, where there was a town forum of sorts for Yo-kai to gather. The forum looked more like an amphitheater, as it had rows of seats for Yo-kai meetings and a purple stage with golden curtains. On the backdrop of the stage was a virtual billboard where Yo-kai could post requests, notices, and other assorted things (though the more mischievous spirits would use it for rumor-spreading and other such heinous pranks). When a Yo-kai wanted to call a public meeting, they could ring a bell located near the billboard that would notify others in the area. Because most Yo-kai were outgoing, discourse-craving beings, meetings open to anyone were quite common. Many loved nothing more than to be involved in something, even if it was rather unexciting to them—to which they simply only gave half an effort.

Meramelion tugged on the dangling string to ring the bell, a silver one with a single purple-lidded, closed eye on it. In response to being rung, the eye on the bell opened, revealing a yellow sclera and black iris, and a booming _gong_ rang out across the city. As the ringing repeated for a couple of minutes, Mera paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, waiting for Yo-kai to show up. Soon enough, Yo-kai came trickling in alone or in a group of two, soft murmurs making their way across the crowd as they all wondered what was going to happen. After about twenty-five different Yo-kai were seated, new arrivals stopped coming. It was time to begin.

Mera faced the crowd and cleared his throat. When the chatter of the crowd did not cease, he coughed louder and began tapping his foot anxiously. He still did not have their attention. Mera grumbled frustratedly as he pulled something out from behind him. It was a lime-green megaphone. Sure, there was a podium with a mic directly to his left, but podium mics weren't Mera's style. He needed something louder, something more demanding. So he switched on the megaphone, then took a deep breath and shouted:

"GOOD MORNING!"

The audience, which had not been paying attention to him before, collectively flinched in their seats and the murmurs died out immediately like a snuffed out flame. A little red devil in the second row trembled in his seat, scared out of his boots by the sudden noise. The rest of the Yo-kai sat attentively, eyes fixated on the meeting organizer.

"Um...hi!" Mera greeted gleefully to the disgust of a few adult-looking folks, who were rolling their eyes, unimpressed with his unprofessionalism. Most of the crowd responded with a half-hearted "hello," except for one blue-skinned child with puffy purple hair, who shook his maracas in the air frantically and exclaimed "HI, MERA!" Mera waved back with a slight grin, and the child turned to the Yo-kai sitting next to him, beaming.

"He's friends with my big brother's _senpai_ ," he whispered excitedly, elbows propped up on the armrest of the other Yo-kai's seat. "He's _so cool_." The other Yo-kai, a blue crow-like entity wearing a pair of _geta_ shoes, silently eyed the child and awkwardly shifted as close to the opposite armrest as possible.

"So..." Mera began, "I suppose you're wondering why I called y—"

"GET ON WITH IT!" commanded an angel with red head-wings in a rather revealing tank top, arms folded across his chest with his lower lip sticking out like a rude child.

"Okay, okay!" Mera obliged, his tone slightly defensive. He took in a deep breath and rolled back his shoulders.

"So, as some of you already know—" he briefly shifted his glance towards the eager blue kid—"I'm the blazing Yo-kai of encouragement, Meramelion. Normally, I'm happy as a clam, but I've found myself in a harrowing predicament. I'm being forced to live with..." Mera paused for a moment for suspense, then made a tight fist in the air, "a dastardly criminal!"

The audience forced a dramatic gasp, save for a plump purple bird that began to sweat and shift his eyes around.

"Not just any dastardly criminal," Mera continued, "but a criminal with so many repeated offenses that he was sent to the highest security prison on Earth! You might even call him...er...the dastardly-est Yo-kai criminal in existence! Some of you may know him, even, due to the recent scenes he has made in the streets of dear old Sakura New Town. He is...this man!" Mera then whipped out a sheet of paper. The audience was utterly silent, trying to decipher what the amalgamate on the page before them was supposed to be. Confused at the lack of a response, Mera took a good look at his paper, a crudely-drawn Jinmenken face with cartoonishly large eyebrows and stink lines coming out from his head, deciding that maybe he should have just grabbed a picture off the internet.

"...Um. Sorry about that," Mera apologized quietly, crumpling up the paper and carelessly throwing it off to the side. "Anyway! He is...the Bukimi tribe's Jinmenken!"

The audience still stayed silent. Mera coughed, soliciting a response of a few lukewarm boos. The only real reaction came from a tiny pink fox clutching a heart-shaped pillow, who shouted "I hate that guy!" in her high-pitched voice.

"I hate him, too!" Mera said. "He has caused myself and my beloved many troubles, despite my attempts at making peace with him! A true biznatch indeed!"

"What the fuck is a biznatch?" came the heavily accented voice of a pink reptilian hoodlum in the audience.

"Hey! Watch your mouth in my meeting!" Mera admonished. A couple of jeering snickers came from the audience, but Mera ignored them.

"What I ask of you," Mera went on, "is to help me being this fiend to justice! We will bring him to the police and make sure he never leaves their clutches! Forcibly!" Mera pumped a fist in the air and whooped. Crickets, save for the wild hollering of the fox from before and the rhythmic shaking of maracas. Mera decided enough was enough.

"Well, can't say I didn't try the traditional way," he mumbled to himself. He suddenly closed his eyes and put his arms up in the air as though he were holding something above him, much to the confusion of his audience. The air around him began to simmer as he drew all the energy out of his core and channeled it into a yellow flame the size of his entire body. It was then that the audience realized what he was doing. Some got up and attempted to run, but it was too late to bail out. As though he were throwing an entire planet, Mera chucked the flame towards the group with a sharp battle cry. Everyone froze as the flame enveloped them. Mera put his hands on his knees, panting heavily. When he stood back up, fifty flaming eyes stared back at him. Mera smirked.

"Now that I really have your attention..." Mera pulled out another piece of paper. He looked at it first this time to make sure his diagram was decipherable. It wasn't. It looked as though a chicken had drawn it. Mera shrugged and tossed it aside, where it landed close to the other rejected paper.

"...Whatever. Just follow my lead from now on, okay?" He took in a gulp of air as though it were his last breath, and with enough force to blow his lungs out, he yelled loud enough for all of Yokyo to hear:

"LET'S DO THIS SHIZZ!"

It was almost as though the crowd from before had been replaced with entirely new Yo-kai. Everyone hooted, hollered, chanted and howled. Some punched the air. The kid with the maracas shook his instruments so hard that he lost his grip and they went flying out of his hands.

With one last whoop, Mera exited the stage and motioned for his crowd to follow him. They did so, forming an almost perfectly straight single-file line, clapping excitedly as they marched.

Mera couldn't help but laugh victoriously.

Jinmenken was in for a surprise.

The troubled human-faced dog had barely gotten any sleep the night before. Between yesterday's tangle with Mera, trying to convince Otonabull (who had left with Gula again the next morning) to stop nagging him about his strange behavior, and trying to suppress his sickness from a lack of alcohol, it was nigh impossible to get his mind to relax. He berated himself for being so hasty in accepting Gula's suggestion to house with him—had he declined the offer, he'd be homeless and miserable, but he wouldn't be _this_ miserable. Stupid, stupid, stupid. Why was he such a damn fool? With this sort of decision-making, it was no wonder he was a total failure. It made him so mad. Mad at himself. Mad at the world.

Jinmenken was lying flat on his back, trying to get his eyes to close, but they'd just fly open again. He grabbed his glasses (he had a couple of replacement pairs) and took a gander at an LED clock on top of the nightstand. It was close to nine in the morning. He sighed, deciding to give up on his attempts to get his brain to simmer down. He sat up groggily and yawned. He felt his stomach churn with hunger and decided it would be a good idea to get up and find something to eat. He hadn't found an opportunity to stock his own food supply since he had moved in, so he didn't have a choice but to share with the family upstairs. Gula usually left him breakfast for when he woke up before he left for work, but he hadn't for the last couple of days. Jinmenken knew things had taken a turn for the worse when the only person in the household that was consistently nice to him—kinder to him than his own best friend, even—had suddenly gone out of his way to avoid him. With that upsetting thought in mind, he trudged upstairs to search through the lions' kitchen.

He realized with a wave of relief that the child that drove him so crazy wasn't home as soon as he was upstairs and didn't hear any noise coming from the blazing Yo-kai's bedroom. Jinmenken wasn't the brightest Yo-kai, but he was acutely observant, and he knew that Mera was usually doing exercises in his room around this time of the day. He definitely wasn't sleeping, either—resting until seven AM was considered oversleeping for the rambunctious boy. The poodle found it rather incredible, then, that Mera had the energy to go out such a short time after their little spat left him so emotionally exhausted. There was just something about that kid's spirit that made it impossible to truly extinguish, wasn't there? When Jinmenken had first met the lion Yo-kai, he was annoyed and almost disgusted by his inability to feel anything but raw cheer ninety-five percent of the time, finding it totally strange and inhuman—but now he couldn't help but feel a little envious. Perhaps this contributed to his hatred of him.

Jinmenken was halfheartedly nibbling on a banana when he heard some sort of clamor arise from outside. He wasn't exactly sure, but it sounded like some sort of parade—he could make out chanting, whistling, and someone shaking maracas rapidly. The sound of footsteps stomping on concrete drew nearer as he stood and listened. As he wondered what on Earth people could be celebrating on a seemingly average day, he cautiously peered through the blinds of the kitchen window, which happened to be close enough to the front of the house to have a view of the street.

What Jinmenken saw was not a group of people, but a group of _Yo-kai_ , at least over twenty. Some he recognized, some he didn't, but he very nearly choked on his banana when he spotted the unmistakable flaming mane of his enemy leading the herd.

Frightened but unable to peel his eyes away from the spectacle, Jinmenken watched as the Yo-kai marched towards the housebreaker eventually stopping near the front door. The entire crowd, he noticed, had been possessed by Mera—all of their eyes were alight with the fires of determination, even those of Mera himself. He couldn't make out what was being said due to the sound of his own pounding heartbeat clogging his ears, but he noticed Mera yelling out some words and the rest of the group repeating after him. There was one thing he heard clearly—his own name—and he suddenly feared for his life. While humans and other earthly things couldn't kill a Yo-kai, other Yo-kai certainly could, and they often had their own way of destroying the victim's spirit, making sure they were gone for good. Without a second thought, Jinmenken dropped his half-eaten banana on the ground and made a mad dash for the basement on all fours. He slammed the door behind him and locked it, then stood with his back to it as though he were glued to it. His chest heaved in and out as he gasped for air.

It was then that the front door flung open and the crowd poured in, screaming something about justice and vengeance. Mera's voice, of course, towered above all the others. Jinmenken heard Mera command the group to split, and suddenly the organized chants stopped, instead evolving into a cacophony of war cries and rage. Yo-kai ran around the house, barging into rooms and tearing things apart. Jinmenken was in such a panic that he thought he was going to pass out. He prayed and prayed as he scrambled down the steps and squeezed behind a dresser, curling up into a ball.

What the hell had this devolved into?

Gulagulion sat wordlessly at his desk in his security office, staring at his hands which were folded on top of the desk, periodically looking up to check the security monitors. His only background noise was the din of a small television hanging from the ceiling. Gula normally preferred working outside, but today he just wasn't in the mood, so he took the office shift. His partners were concerned seeing as Gula was quite chipper, but didn't bother him knowing he could get emotional at times. Otonabull, too, was abnormally quiet. He would normally run around and eagerly ask the security guards questions about their jobs and other "mature" things, but today he was content with shuffling through some of Gula's paperwork. It was clear that neither of them were very invested in what they were doing.

Suddenly, the rather dull Yomazon shopping show playing on the TV was obstructed by a big, red banner that said "Breaking News!" in bold white letters.

"We interrupt this program for a Yo-kai World news report!" said an enthusiastic voice. The camera then shifted to a view of two Yo-kai. On the left was a gray, rectangle-shaped Yo-kai with bloated facial features holding a megaphone. To his right was his partner, a yellow devil with red eyes and a perpetual fanged smirk. It was Kakusan and Aitatatimes, the newscaster duo whose respective rumor-starting and story-exaggerating powers made them a well-known—and widely disliked—pair. Gula was too absorbed in his own worry to pay much attention, but Otonabull watched with mild interest—Kakutimes' "breaking" news broadcasts were usually not that big of a deal, as the two found almost any story that had entertainment value to be "important". Still, they were amusing, if nothing else.

"This just in!" shouted Kakusan, using his megaphone even though the television studio was already recording his voice with a microphone, making his voice unnaturally loud. "We've just received some very recent footage submitted by an anonymous viewer of a spectacular scene on the streets of Sakura New Town's urban district! And oh, man, is it something! Ain't that right, Aita?"

"You betcha, Kaks!" Aitatatimes cackled. "This right here is the story of the century!" the Usurakage tribe gestured for the video control to switch the camera to a feed of the group of Yo-kai outside of someone's house.

"Check this out!" Aita's voice bellowed. "These angry-lookin' folks allegedly paraded to this spot in a single-file line, then stood around and yelled at the house! These guys must have some real beef with the paint job, huh? Heh heh!"

"They ain't angry at the _house_ , you idiot!" said Kakusan. "They must be trying to provoke the person inside! Maybe the resident is a Mudazukist communist! Har har!"

Otonabull frowned. Something about that house looked oddly familiar. Then the camera zoomed in on the crowd and Otonabull got a really good look at who was at the front of the group. The bulldog gasped.

"Gulagulion-san! That's..." Otonabull was too shocked to finish his sentence.

"Huh?" Gula asked lifelessly, slowly lifting his head up to get a look at the television. When he recognized his younger brother, he instantly fell out of his seat with a yell. He stumbled over to where Otonabull was sitting on the floor and watched with his jaw hanging open.

"Ooh, ooh!" shouted Aita, "here comes the really good part!" The video then showed the Yo-kai, headed by Mera, storming into the house.

"Ooh, nothing like a raid to get my little ol' heart pounding!" Kakusan said and thumped his chest with his fist a couple of times.

"You got that right!" Aita replied and started howling with laughter. "Whoever's in there is gonna have a real bad t—"

The TV screen shut off with a _click_. Gula had slammed the power button on the television set with his open palm. He turned towards Otonabull with a serious look, a mixture of fury and concern showing through his flaming eyes.

"There's an Ungaikyo stationed down the block," Gula said, his voice low and solemn. "Let's go."

Otonabull's throat went dry. "Do you think he's going to...?"

"I don't think so," Gula growled. "I know so."

 _Bang. Bang. Bang_. Jinmenken didn't dare to budge as multiple Yo-kai attempted to bust the basement door down. He had been curled up for so long he could feel his muscles stiffening, but to move now would be asking for death.

After ten minutes' worth of attempts, the sound of wood breaking was heard. Jinmenken lifted his head up just slightly to notice light filtering through the door opening. He could make out five or so figures bolting down the stairs, so he quickly put his head back down.

Unfortunately, it wasn't long until Jinmenken heard the sound of the dresser he was hiding behind sliding across the rug. His heart caught in his throat as he slowly looked up to see a creature in a red and white kabuki mask with wild brown hair towering over him, twin blades pointed straight at his face.

Jinmenken yelped and scrambled backwards as far as he could until he hit the opposite wall. His kneejerk reaction gave him away to the other four Yo-kai, one of them Mera, who were ravaging through the room looking for him. The air felt like molasses as the five Yo-kai, headed by Mera, slowly came towards him. Jinmenken was shaking, but he knew he had no choice but to fight. He bared his fangs. Mera opened his mouth first.

"You aren't a bad hider, you know. Even Remoconkakushi here couldn't find you, and he's the master of hiding." Mera said, gesturing towards one of his cohorts, a purple remote controller wearing a cape.

"Save the chitchat," Jinmenken replied, venom in his words. "I swear to God, Meramelion, if I get out of this alive..."

Mera was unfazed. "Oh, don't worry, you'll be getting out of this just fine. If I were a killer, I wouldn't be much better than you. Besides, you'll have bigger problems besides me in jail."

"What?!" Jinmenken balked. "I haven't even done anything illegal! You can't arrest me!"

"Haven't I told you already?" Mera's lips slowly turned upwards into a sneer. "You can do anything if you believe hard enough."

Without further ado, Mera chopped the air, motioning for the other Yo-kai to charge forward with a hearty cry. The remote, the kabuki swordsman, a pink piece of mochi with muscles, a giant wall with horns, a short elderly man with an abnormally large tongue, and Mera all tried to grab him at once. Jinmenken quickly darted off to the side, causing the kabuki swordsman to run straight first into the wall, dazing him. The other four all continued their pursuit. The old man tried to wrap him up with his tongue, but Jinmenken bit it, causing its owner to recoil in pain and run off to the other side of the room. The mochi roared and picked up the remote control, flinging him at Jinmenken, but he ducked just in time. He happened to be right in front of a nightstand, which the remote control slammed into and dropped like a rock out of the air. The mochi ran for Jinmenken, but he sidestepped once again, causing the mochi to knock into the nightstand as well. He was much heavier than the remote control, so the force sent the nightstand rocking back and forth until it finally fell on top of the mochi, knocking him unconscious. Mera was the only one left. Not even wasting a second, Mera made a beeline straight for the canine, his fist flaming and emitting a trail of tiny embers as he ran. Jinmenken snarled as he frothed purple flame in his mouth.

"I'm gonna _fuck you up_ , kid!" Jinmenken cried as he bounded forward to meet his enemy.

The two of them were interrupted almost immediately by a giant mound of rock that landed straight in their path. They just barely avoided crashing into it by grounding their heels, stopping their momentum. Just as they were trying to figure out a way around it, the temperature in the room went up considerably. Mera's pupils shrank as he realized who had arrived.

Mera very slowly turned around to find Gula standing behind him. He was so furious that even his breathing, which sounded more like low growls, was menacing. Jinmenken peered over from the other side of the giant rock to notice not only Gula in all his enraged glory, but also Otonabull, who was half-hidden behind Gula. He looked straight into his older friend's eyes, tears of both worry and fear lining his lower eyelids.

For a minute, all was silent, like a ravaged battlefield after a war. Mera had been so scared by his brother's appearance that he lost control of his possession, leaving his four cohorts wondering where they were and why their heads hurt. After everyone took in the damages, Gula inhaled sharply. He commanded:

"EVERYONE. OUT."

His voice was so loud the house shook. The Yo-kai Mera had brought with him ran for the front door as though a bomb were about to go off, save for a monkey-like cat upstairs that quickly pocketed Jinmenken's abandoned banana before following the others. After the noises of the stampede died out, the four residents of the household were left standing in a half-destroyed basement—and it was possibly even worse upstairs.

It was Mera who finally broke the ice.

"Sorry," he mumbled, staring down at his feet. Only now had he realized the impact of what he had done. Jinmenken wanted to retort—"sorry" wasn't enough for him—but he but his lip, knowing he'd only start another fight.

"Come upstairs with me," Gula said, beckoning Mera with his finger. He then turned to Jinmenken, who now had Otonabull by his side, burying his face in the older dog's leg. Jinmenken nodded at Gula—words were not needed. He knew what his instructions were.

Gula and Mera left without another word. Mera shot one last, blink-and-you'll-miss-it glance at Jinmenken before he trudged behind his older brother as though his legs were weighed down by sandbags.

"I'm really sorry, okay?" Mera sputtered almost as soon as Gula had shut the door to Mera's room. Gula only sighed and shook his head.

"I know you are. I don't need to lecture you on why what you did is so wrong, but that doesn't mean it's okay now."

"I know," Mera said sadly, "I was just...so..."

"Mad. Worried. I know, trust me." Gula was a Yo-kai that specialized in emotions, after all.

"But..." Mera's brother continued "...I really can't let you get off scot-free just because you had good intentions. This caused damages on a large scale, Mera. Larger than you could imagine. So...you're grounded for a week while I pick up the pieces."

Mera opened his mouth to protest. A week for him felt like a century...but he knew he deserved this.

Mera ended the conversation there, stating that he needed rest, so Gula left the room. Mera flopped down onto his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He really did regret it. To involve the public in such an ordeal, inconveniencing his home and his family...it was a move fueled by rage.

Strangely, however—although he'd never admit it—he did not feel sorry for Jinmenken at all despite the torment he had caused him. And at that moment is when Mera realized he was truly losing himself to this rivalry. A rivalry that had started out as some possibly exaggerated accusations. He felt like a terrible person, but he was in too deep. There was no way out of this hole that he and Jinmenken had dug themselves into.

Mera didn't know who he was anymore. He did know what he wanted.

He wished Jinmenken was dead.

And the blazing Yo-Kai's adversary evidently felt the same way about him.

The week during which Mera was grounded passed almost torturously slowly. The entire household felt the effects of Mera's boredom and sorrow—Jinmenken and Otonabull didn't do much of anything, and Gula was forced to take unpaid leave for a week in order to repair the house. Almost all of the rent money Jinmenken had coughed up so far went towards replacing furniture and paying the Katazukerai that came to clean up.

Word traveled faster than light among Yo-kai, and it didn't take long for the Atti Soul Brothers to hear of the drama, especially after the entire ordeal became the hottest Yo-kai gossip of the season. Once Mera was ungrounded, Atsugaruru called up Gula and made him an offer that Gula at first thought to be appallingly inappropriate.

"...A band practice?" Gula remarked incredulously.

"Look," Garu sighed, "I know he just got off of a punishment and all, but what he really needs is some stress relief. He needs to spend some quality time with the people he cares about so he can get his mind off of the people...er, person...he doesn't care so much about. Maybe then he'll get his act together."

That changed Gula's mind quickly. He didn't want to reward Mera for his actions, but Garu's argument made him realize just how much grief seeing his little bro wrapped up in such internal (and external) conflict have him. And so he obliged, and Atti Soul Brothers band practice at the lion household was scheduled for the next day.

Unfortunately, Gula was a loud talker. A certain very angered poodle heard every word.

Otonabull cocked his head in confusion when he heard Jinmenken giggle in an almost eerie way, rubbing his hands together. They hadn't talked much in the last week, but it was much better than the daily arguments they were having before—Otonabull would call Jinmenken out on his recent actions and Jinmenken would try to justify them, which usually lead to Otonabull getting yelled at and the pup admonishing his elder for not being "the Jinmenken-san he thought he knew". But Mera's little house raid had quieted Otonabull's discontent rather quickly; after witnessing how serious this truly was, he decided it was best to just be thankful that Jinmenken hadn't truly gone off the deep end—yet.

This was about to change.

"What are you doing?" Otonabull inquired upon noticing Jinmenken's strange laughter. Jinmenken whipped his head around to face his friend with an almost devilish grin on his face, causing Otonabull to flinch.

"They think they're gonna make it all better, huh...? Kiss Mera's boo-boo and make it go away...?"

Otonabull was simply befuddled, as he hadn't been paying much attention to Gula's phone conversation. "What...?"

"Well, I'm not gonna let that happen," Jinmenken whispered, his voice suddenly raspy and deliberate like that of a cartoon villain. It unnerved Otonabull beyond belief.

"Mera's not going to have a good day tomorrow," Jinmenken growled, "not after what he's done to my. I'm not his plaything; I'm not taking this abuse..." he balled his paws into a fist and squeezed tight, his claws digging into his paw pads.

"I'm gonna take a shit all over him and his friends if it's the last thing I do, and I know just how to do it..." Jinmenken stood up and walked over to Otonabull like a zombie, his head lowered and movements slow. Otonabull broke out into a cold sweat as Jinmenken tilted his head up slightly to glare at Otonabull with bloodshot eyes.

"My dear boy...you understand, don't you...?"

"I..." Otonabull let out a shaky breath and shook his head. "Not really."

Jinmenken's suddenly stood up straight again. "Yeah, I didn't expect you to," he said, his voice back to its regular tone somehow. Otonabull had never been more confused in his life.

"You don't worry your little head," Jinmenken said, "I'll show that little brat what I'm made of if it's the last thing I do!" He broke into a series of maniacal cackles as he grabbed their phone from off of the wall and furiously dialed.

Otonabull knew this was wrong. Totally, utterly wrong. But he didn't dare open his mouth.

What good would a bow and arrow do in a war between two cannons?

That afternoon, Kaimu slinked into the sewer base with a tired look on their face.

"You've been gone for..." Yamimaro said, turning towards his friend.

"A week and a half," Uma finished. "Welcome back, Flimsy."

Kaimu let out a sigh of exhaustion. "Thanks, U—hey, wait!" they furrowed their eyebrows at the pegasus. "Don't call me that!"

"Well," Uma replied with a shrug, "you sure look it."

It was true. Kaimu looked as though they hadn't slept in days, and that was because they hadn't.

"I stayed up the entire time waiting for the energy release," the ninja scroll groaned, "but still nothing."

Yamimaro's jaw dropped. He and the others had been receiving frequent updates. "Impossible. The kid is a mess."

Kaimu rolled their eyes. "Not enough of one, I guess."

Yamimaro clawed at his bald head in frustration. "How much further can we even push this? We've done everything we can!"

"We can give up and slowly rot instead. I wouldn't mind," Uma deadpanned.

"Listen, you little—!" Yamimaro began to yell at his crony. Just then, his cell phone rang. He grumbled and took it out of his pocket. He raised an eyebrow when he saw who was calling.

"It's the rookie," he announced. Kaimu and Uma gathered around their leader, intrigued. Yamimaro put the phone on speaker mode

"Hey, M'lord," said the voice on the other end. "I've got some news that y'all might wanna hear."

"Bro!" called a voice similar to the rookie's from somewhere in the background, "Where's my guitar, zura?"

"Dunno! Look in that old box outside, zura!" the rookie called, his voice muffled as his paw rested on the receiver.

"Pay attention to us!" Yamimaro snapped impatiently

"My apologies." the rookie's voice was clearer now. "Y'see, I suppose I right should've told y'all this earlier, but...did you know my brother and I were in, uh...a band? With Jinmenken?"

"Ooh! Exciting!" Uma remarked, earning a glare from Yamimaro.

"And this is relevant why?" the gray demon asked the newcomer.

"Because..." the rookie paused for a moment. "Well, Jinmenken invited the two of us over tomorrow, for a...'friendly competition' with Mera's band."

"Not so friendly, huh?" Kaimu said.

The rookie nodded on the other end even though his partners couldn't see him. "My brother's downright oblivious to current events, so he ain't got a clue about what's been happening, but Kaimu's been filling me in over the phone almost constantly. Just a few minutes ago, Jinmenken was..."

"Scheming!" Kaimu finished. "Juicy, juicy schemes..."

Yamimaro stroked his beard thoughtfully with a slight smirk. "I can see where this is going. I like it."

"Jinmenken wants nothing more than to make ol' Mera miserable," the rookie stated, confirming Yamimaro's assumptions. "I dunno why this is the way he's going about it, but..."

"I want you to go," Yamimaro ordered. "This might be the final push we really need. Take Kaimu. I'm sure you two will do your best to make that crazy old coot's plan work. Just make sure you stay subtle."

"Roger that," the rookie said, "I'll be bringing y'all home one fresh jar of negative energy, just you wait!"

"Broooo!" came the other voice again. "Who are you talking to now, zura? You've been on that darn ear warmer all day long, zura!"

"N-nobody!" the rookie sputtered, "I'll be off in a minute, zura!"

The other voice prattled on about "kids and their electronics" but faded out as its owner walked away.

"I gotta go. See ya tomorrow, Kaimu," the rookie said and hung up with a _click_.

The rookie secretly felt that something here had gone amiss. Revenge? On Mera? But he was such a nice guy...was he really right in supporting this? But then he remembered the affirmation his boss had given him over the phone—"I'm sure you two will do your best". Yamimaro believed in him. He was going to carry out a mission all by himself! Or without his brother, anyway. And so the rookie suppressed his doubts. He trusted his feelings.

Perhaps he trusted his feelings a bit too much.

Much like everyone else wrapped up in this situation.

* * *

 **No English names today. Aitatatimes and Kakusan don't have them yet, and "Yokyo" is actually a name I made up (it's actually just "Yo-kai central city" in Japanese, so I took inspiration from the dub's "Yo-kai-lifornia").**

 **Did you pick out all the cameos in this chapter? I had a blast implementing so many different Yo-kai in subtle ways.**

 **Next chapter will be all about seeing what comes from our little music-fest escapade. If you haven't yet, buckle your seatbelts...**


	5. Chapter 5: Chemical Reaction

**Woah, I made the self-imposed deadline...by four hours. Close shave.**

* * *

The news of the arrangement had almost instantly rejuvenated the spark in Mera's heart like a lighter to a cigarette. Despite all his emotional aches and pains, Meramelion truly was ecstatic about spending a day with the Atti Soul Brothers. He was surprised his brother allowed for something like this so early after a punishment, but he definitely wasn't going to complain—he missed his friends, and having to deal with a person he hated made him even more appreciative of the people he loved. He only had one thing worrying his young mind, and that was whether or not something terrible would happen with Jinmenken still in the house. Fortunately, Gulagulion took charge this time to make sure everything would run smoothly. He provided Jinmenken with some food and water and then placed an external lock on the basement door to ensure he'd stay in the basement the entire day. He also practically dragged Otonabull to work with him. Strangely, the bulldog seemed reluctant to leave for the day this time—he couldn't quite form his concerns into words, but he kept shooting brief side-eyed glances at Jinmenken (still sleeping at the time) as he protested to Gula. Nevertheless, Gula insisted, chalking Otonabull's peculiar behavior up to him just being distressed over the incident.

And so, at around noon, Atsugaruru, Asekkaki, and Nobosetonman all arrived to see Mera running around the living room like a toddler on a sugar rush. The blazing Yo-kai was frantically darting from place to place, setting out snack bowls, struggling with speaker wires, and occasionally backflipping off of walls just because he could. Nobosetonman couldn't help but chuckle at the spectacle.

"Are you sure he's been upset lately?" the pot-bellied pig whispered. "He looks fine to me!"

Asekakki jabbed him in the stomach with his elbow, eliciting a sharp "hey!" from his friend. Nobosetonman murmured something under his breath as Atsugaruru waved to Mera.

"Mera! Hey!" Garu called, causing Mera to stop in his tracks. A beaming smile spread across his cheeks as he ran over to the trio.

"Garu! Nobo! Ase! Hiiiii!" Mera exclaimed. He threw his arms around all three of them at once—or at least as best he could considering his rather short reach. He let go before they even had a chance to hug him back and started running around in circles, jabbering as he went.

"You guys, we're gonna have sooooo much fun today! I've got food and games and a karaoke machine and...oh, yeah! I wrote lyrics for an extended version of our song!" Mera speeded out of the room and came back in less than ten seconds, now holding a paper which he hastily shoved into Garu's hands. Garu squinted as he tried to read the handwriting, but all he could make out was numerous repetitions of the word "mera". Regardless, he gave Mera a kind smile.

"That's...great, buddy! We're gonna have to practice singing that."

"Thanks! It took me all night," Mera replied. "Poetic, isn't it?"

Garu nodded respectfully and chuckled. Although he wouldn't say it, Nobosetonman's off-handed comment before was right. Mera's integrity was definitely something else if he was able to bounce back from such a slump in such a short time. He expected the get-together to improve his mood, but in more of a gradual way. Not that this was a bad thing—it was great that it was this easy. The hard part would be making his demeanor last.

"Well..." Asekkaki said, taking off a dark green backpack wider than his whole body and plopping it down onto the floor with a grunt, "I guess we should get started, then?"

"Oh, yeah! Totally!" Mera exclaimed. He practically tore open the zipper of the huge backpack without even asking Asekakki (he didn't mind, thankfully) and his eyes sparkled with amazement as soon as he saw its contents. Inside was an electric guitar, keyboard, and drum kit, with the letters "ASB" imprinted in bold red letters on the bass drum.

"Dude...where did you get all this?" Mera asked, his voice filled with wonderment.

Asekakki laughed. "The music store, duh! Though, um...I got carried away and forgot to ask if anyone could actually play instruments."

Nobosetonman rolled his eyes and snorted while Garu just sighed. Mera shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, we'll figure it out," the lion said, grabbing the guitar and throwing the strap over his shoulder, "how hard could it be?"

Mera began to strum on the electric guitar. He made a confused grunt when no sound came out of the instrument. He began to strum harder and faster.

"Wait, stop!" Garu said, causing Mera to look up at him, eyebrows furrowed.

"What?"

"It's, uh...not plugged in."

Mera looked over the guitar carefully and noticed the wire protruding from the guitar's output jack.

"...Oh."

"Guess we've got a ways to go," Garu said, causing everyone in the room to go into a fit of chuckles, Mera included.

It seemed like it was going to be a good day for Mera.

It seemed like it was going to be a bad day for Jinmenken.

The human-faced dog snarled as he stood with one floppy ear up against the door. Not only was Mera elated, but it seemed there was no way for his guests to get in since the basement door was had planned on sneaking them in through the back door and into the basement while Mera and his friends' backs were turned, but...damn it! Jinmenken balled up his fists in anger. Had his plan failed before it had even gone underway?

It was at that moment that the room was suddenly bathed in a white light for just a second, catching Jinmenken off guard and causing him to lose his balance, sending him tumbling down the stairs. He landed at the bottom flat on his back, his rump aching and his head pounding. He groaned painfully as he stood up, staggering in place for a minute as he gathered his bearings. When his head stopped spinning, he noticed two pudgy lion-dogs, one milk white and one the color of butterscotch, standing in front of him.

"Good afternoon, zura!" the white shrine guardian said enthusiastically, waving his paw. His twin also waved curtly. Jinmenken had to do a double take.

"What the...?" he sputtered, "Komasan and Komajiro! How did you two even get down here?!"

"We took an Ungaikyo, zura!" the white dog, Komasan, answered, waving his little arms up and down excitedly.

"What? Where is it now?" Jinmenken asked dubiously, whipping his head around for any signs of a purple mirror Yo-kai. Komasan hummed.

"I don't know, zura. Some hand came out from the w—"

"Anyway!" the lion-dog's brown twin brother, Komajiro, interrupted him mid-sentence. "You seemed pretty, uh... _excited_ when you called us up last night, so what's the deal, zura?"

Jinmenken tried to stifle a chuckle, but a little snort came out anyway.

"Well, you see...as you're probably aware of by now, my housemate—Meramelion, you know, always-on-fire kid, I'm sure you know him—and I haven't exactly been on the bed of terms—"

" _Mongee_!" Komasan cried, "you live with Mera, zura?! I wanna say hi, zura!"

"No!" Jinmenken blurted out, perhaps a bit too sharply based on the confused look on Komasan's face. The poodle coughed awkwardly.

"I mean, um...you'll get to say hello to him later, okay? I wanna surprise him. Anyhow, I guess you bumpkins _don't_ know what's going on after all. So I'll make it quick—" Jinmenken's eyes instantly narrowed and his voice lowered, "—we've fought on multiple occasions."

" _Mongeeee_!" Komasan gasped once again, "but why, zura?!"

"I said I wanted to make it quick!" Jinmenken snapped. Komasan only responded with a rather downcast look.

"Maybe it's just a little personal, zura..." Komajiro whispered. He wanted to slap himself after giving such a hasty excuse, but his brother luckily seemed to believe it, shrugging with an accepting "zura".

"So if you'll allow me to _continue..._ " Jinmenken said, "I've been looking for a way to get my mind off of things, you know? Conflict isn't fun. And I'm a lover, not a fighter. So when I overheard that Mera was inviting has buddies over for some band practice, I figured, why not get ol' Mr.

Inudoren together as well? Just for kicks."

Komasan's eyes sparkled with eagerness. "That sounds like so much fun, zura!"

"Doesn't it?" Jinmenken said with a satisfied nod. "There's one thing we have to keep in mind, though..."

Komasan tilted his head curiously. "What's that, zura?"

Jinmenken blanched for a brief second. "Ah...well...well...I want your little visit to be a surprise! When everything's all said and done down here, you can go up and see him, and he'll be happier than ever to see you guys! I mean, who doesn't like surprise guests, am I right...?"

"Ooh, good point! Surprises are so _monge_!" the white lion-dog jumped up and down with joy. Komajiro sighed. Jinmenken's excuses were somehow even worse than his.

"So!" Jinmenken continued, "Because this is a surprise, we're going to be...anonymous! Anonymous competitors!"

Komasan blinked, puzzled. "A...anonyny...an octopus?"

"No, no, no! _Anonymous,_ " Jinmenken corrected, making an arc-shaped motion in the air with his arms as he pronounced the last word slowly and mystifyingly. "It means we're not gonna make it obvious who we are! Well, who you are, anyway. He knows I'm down here." Of course, Jinmenken fully expected that Mera wouldn't be laughing at all.

"Ooooh!" Komasan said with genuine interest, nodding his head. "Won't they recognize our voices, zura?"

Komajiro sighed. _Nii-chan and his questions...at least this makes things easier for me..._

Jinmenken snickered, grabbing Otonabull's laptop, which he had left behind, from next to the bulldog's bed. He then plopped down on the floor, the komainu brothers toddling over to kneel in front of him. His eyebrows furrowed as the light of the monitor shone on him, making him look almost sinister.

"That's where _this_ comes in..." Jinmenken turned the laptop towards the brothers. On the screen was some sort of audio program that Komajiro vaguely recognized. Komasan had no clue what he was seeing.

" _Monge_! Just looking at that is making me dizzier than a doornail, zura!"

"It's a program that lets us adjust our voices in real time," Jinmenken explained. "All we've gotta do is plug the mic into this jack—" he pointed to a hole in the side of the computer— "and the program will do all the work for us. This way, he won't recognize you two and he won't have to listen to my normal voice 'cause he most definitely hates hearing it by now! So we can sing as loud as we want—very loud, preferably, don't ask—and not be recognized."

Komasan's jaw dropped. "That's unreal, zura..."

Komajiro hummed. "Did you...did you really go out of your way to research and plan this all this yourself, zura?"

"Sure did!" the poodle declared proudly. Suddenly, his expression drooped.

"...Wait, why do you ask?"

The hair on Komajiro's back rose. "N-no particular reason, zura! Just curious...zura."

For a few seconds that dragged on like an eternity, Jinmenken simply stared blankly at the butterscotch lion-dog. Komajiro's blood went cold. He could almost feel an additional pair of eyes staring at him condescendingly from behind.

Suddenly, Jinmenken shook his head furiously, his ears flapping from side to side. A second later, he was looking back at the two komainu with a confident smirk.

"So if you two understand, get those guitars tuned up and let's get rolling! I've gotta go to the bathroom. And by that I mean going in that corner over there." Jinmenken pointed to the upper right corner of the room, where a white sheet known as a "pee-pee pad" was located. "We're sort of locked in the basement, so...sorry."

Jinmenken that trotted over to the coroner to do his business. Komasan frowned and leaned in to whisper into his brother's ear.

"I don't really get it, zura..."

"Me neither, zura," Komajiro mumbled frustratedly. He couldn't even figure out how in the world this plan was supposed to reach the intended goal—and he probably wouldn't know until it happened, if it happened. He certainly couldn't ask—if Jinmenken found out, it was over.

Coincidentally, at that moment, Komajiro felt something tug at his ankles. He knew what this meant.

" _Nii-chan_ , why don't you start warming up, zura?"

Komasan's face brightened. "Yeah! Oh, what about you, zura?"

"In a sec, zura. I need to...mentally prepare myself, zura."

"Sounds good to me, zura!" Komasan waddled over to the dresser and brandished his acoustic guitar, which had been strapped to his back, and sat down, leaning against the dresser. Komajiro let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. He then looked down to see a blue-tinted "shadow" on the carpet below him. It slid along the ground over to the wall on the far end of the room. Komajiro followed it, rubbing his arm nervously.

Once they were sure only Komajiro was looking, Kaimu poked their head out.

"Yeesh," they started, keeping their voice low, "I knew that guy was quirky, but I didn't think he was this _nonsensical_. None of what he said had any rhyme or reason to it!"

Komajiro shook his head sadly. "He done lost his marbles, I guess...but you know my brother, he'll accept anything. Besides, I guess dealing with a prank like this—I guess it's a prank, trying to drown 'em out and confuse 'em and all—when I was feeling upset would make me feel pretty darned terrible..."

"Pfft. Some prank," Kaimu scoffed, "so long as the Atti Soul Brothers are properly equipped with those speakers and modern instruments, a couple of fiddles and some freeware audio editor bullshit will barely sound like a whisper." The ninja scroll sighed. "I'm gonna have to intervene a bit."

Komajiro gulped. "So that means..."

"Yep." Kaimu quickly gestured towards their back, which was currently concealed in the wall, with their eyes. Their giant shuriken worked as both a melee weapon and a powerful projectile, but they didn't plan to use it to directly hurt anyone here.

"You just play along with the old coot, okay?" Kaimu paused briefly, as said old coot's tinkling in the background was making them slightly uncomfortable. "I'll make sure they won't get to play a single note...unless they wanna make their own instruments. Belly drum or something."

"Komajiro!" Komasan's voice called, causing Kaimu to squeak and draw back into the wall with a quick wave at Komajiro. "What are you doing over there, zura!"

"Nothing, zura!" Komajiro dashed over to his brother's side and readied his own guitar. "Just...giving myself a little pep talk, zura!"

"Great, then!" exclaimed a beaming Jinmenken, who was suddenly standing in front of them. Komajiro wrinkled his nose.

"...Did you wash your hands, zura?"

Jinmenken's smile was replaced with a slight frown for a moment. He looked down at the floor, somewhat ashamed.

"...Just practice the damn guitar," Jinmenken mumbled. A little giggle slipped through Komasan's lips. His twin brother rolled his eyes.

Komajiro seriously questioned Yamimaro's choice in catalysts.

The Atti Soul Brothers had taken a bit longer than intended to set up all of their equipment. Mera's karaoke machine had appeared to be broken—they had actually just forgotten to hit the power button—and Asekkaki had a rather tough time putting together the drum set; he and Nobosetonman almost got into a spat while trying to figure it out. Despite the difficulty of if all, the group of friends had a good laugh when all was said and done—in fact, Mera barely seemed to mind the chaos at all; he was smiling the whole way through, even when he was screaming at his karaoke machine.

Finally, the group decided who would be playing what. Mera was on drums (he had an extremely tough time making a decision, as he wanted every role), Asekakkai was on the keyboard, Nobosetonman played the guitar, and Garu was the lead vocalist. They decided they'd warm up with some simple scale exercises.

"Okay!" said Garu, "Are we all ready?"

The other three whooped in response as though they were getting ready to play their big number already.

"In that case, on three!" Garu instructed. "A-one, and a-two, and...three!"

Instead of the absolute cacophony they had expected, for some reason the only sound that rang out was the gunshot-like pounding of Mera's drumsticks. He wasn't keeping to much of a rhythm, but he appeared to be getting really into it, as his arms were orange blues and he almost fell out of his seat as he bounced up and down. Meanwhile, his friends exchanged looks of confusion.

"Hey, Mera." Asekakki said, but was drowned out by the drums. "Mera!" he said, slightly louder this time. Nobosetonman mumbled something incoherent and took in a deep breath.

"MERA!" he bellowed, making Asekakki and Garu nearly jump out of their skins. Mera abruptly stopped his drumming, looking startled as the echo of a cymbal slowly faded out.

"What?"

"Nothing else is working," the pig Yo-kai grumbled.

"Eh? How is that even possible?" Mera inquired. "Did we forget to plug something else in?"

"That can't be it," Garu replied, "we checked, like, five times."

"Uh...guys?" came Asekakki's deep voice, "I think I found our problem."

The oni gestured to the wire coming from the keyboard which, to everyone's shock, had been split in half.

" _What_?" the other three gasped collectively. Nobosetonman's pink face changed to beet red in an instant.

"I swear, if there are rats in this house—"

"Mine is broken too!" Garu called suddenly, turning the karaoke machine around so that the group could see the split end of the wire protruding from it. Before anyone else could so much as blink, he suddenly pointed to the electric guitar.

"And yours, Nobo...!" Nobosetonman looked behind him at the speaker into which the guitar had been plugged into. Sure enough, yet another frayed wire. He let out an enraged snort.

"This is totally unfair!" Nobosetonman pouted.

"And really strange..." Asekakki added.

"There's no way we did this." Garu put a paw up to his chin. "Maybe...there's another Yo-kai in here..."

"Let me at 'em, then!" Mera hopped off of his seat and punched the air a few times and growled menacingly.

"Me too! Me too!" Nobosetonman threw his guitar aside and pounded his belly a few times with his fists.

"Hey, wait, let's not rush into things!" Garu stood in front of his two friends with his arms spread. "It might be somebody dangerous."

Suddenly, Garu's face went a little pale. "Unless..." he clutched his forehead with one paw.

"No, no, that can't be it." Nobosetonman and Asekkaki could do little besides stand there with puzzled gazes, but Mera caught on immediately, and the color also drained from his face at the mere thought...but it quickly flooded back as he shook his head rapidly.

"Nuh-uh. No way. Gula made sure nothing like that could happen. He's a security guard—he knows how to lock people up." He spoke assertively, yet there was a slight catch in his voice, a hint of denial.

Garu went to open his mouth, but as he took in a breath, Nobosetonman put a finger to the terrier's lip.

"Shush. Do you hear that?"

Garu waited a minute, but heard nothing. He raised an eyebrow. "Hear what?"

"Listen closer. Sounds like strumming."

Garu cupped his paw over his ear, and sure enough, he picked up what sounded like the faint twang of acoustics in the background.

"Huh. That's...funny."

Mera was already halfway across the room heading towards the basement. Garu noticed him and ran over to grab him by his belt.

"Stop! I'll take care of it."

"But—"

"No 'buts'." Garu ordered. "Listen, the whole point of this was to get your mind off of him, right? So you can stay here with the others."

Mera let out a huff. "I...I guess you're right."

"Good." Garu gave a comforting smile. "Be back in a jiffy. Promise."

Mera sulked slightly as he watched Garu go off, not even noticing his two other friends calling to him. Trouble was definitely afoot.

Komasan hummed blissfully as he delicately strummed out his part in the melody of his band's song, swaying side to side to the rhythm. Komajiro tried to follow along, but his mind was preoccupied with other things. His eyes kept darting to the wall. Jinmenken was mumbling some things to himself as he fiddled around with the computer.

Komasan noticed his brother's uneasiness and suddenly stopped playing. He tapped Komajiro on the shoulder.

"Komajiro? What's the matter, zura?" Komasan asked, concerned. Komajiro gasped, distracted from his thoughts, and looked back down at his guitar.

"Ah...nothing. Just thinking, zura..."

"About what, zura?" Komasan's lips turned downward. "You've been acting really strange all day, zura. Are you sure you're feeling alright, zura?"

Komajiro wasn't sure how to respond. He wasn't feeling alright, really, but he wouldn't dare get his brother all worked up lest it distract everyone from the real matter at hand. And he couldn't tell Komasan the truth, not yet. He simply sat with his mouth open, waiting for some words to form, but nothing came—his brain was too much of a jumbled mess. Komasan was about to say something else when the sound of the laptop snapping shut made them both jump.

Before the Koma brothers could react, Jinmenken scrambled over to them.

"Crap, crap, ah, shit..." Jinmenken muttered.

Komasan cocked his head. "Wh—"

"Shush!" Jinmenken whispered sharply, putting a paw over the lion-dog's mouth. "I hear footsteps up there. Someone's coming by already."

Komasan let out a gasp. "What do we do, zura?" he asked quietly.

"Don't. Make. A. Sound." Jinmenken poked the squishy komainu in the cheek after each word. "It's too early for them to discov—"

As if on cue, there was a knock on the basement door.

"Hello?" Atsugaruru's voice called from behind the door. The three dog Yo-kai were frozen like statues.

"...Um, hello?" Garu repeated. "Jinmenken? Are you doing something down there?"

Silence.

"...Well, we thought we heard something coming from down here, but...I guess we were just hearing things..."

Komasan took in a couple sharp breaths. Komasan looked over and noticed he was about to sneeze. Jinmenken looked like he was about to explode. Komajiro quickly reached over and pinched Komasan's nose in the nick of time.

"...Well, if nothing's going on down here, I guess I'll leave you alone, then..." There was a brief pause. "Sorry to bother you.

They heard the sound of Garu shuffling away. Jinmenken let out a sigh.

"What in the..."

"Um, what was that about, zura?" Komasan asked.

"They aren't supposed to be able to hear us yet!" Jinmenken said. "They should be playing over us! We've gotta be able to play over their instruments to anno—I mean, um, why _aren't_ they playing?"

Before Komasan could ask what any of that meant, Jinmenken went up the stairs and pressed his ear against the door, his guests following suit.

"...dead quiet. Not even a peep out of him," they heard Garu explain.

"That's bull!" Nobosetonman exclaimed, sounding awfully frustrated. "I know what I heard!"

"This is just all so weird..." Asekakki released a wistful sigh. "And without most of our instruments, what are we supposed to do now?"

Nobody answered for a good thirty seconds. Mera's voice finally broke the silence.

"I...don't know."

The lion's voice was oddly low and pained, as though he was holding something back—tears? Anger? Who knew? Jinmenken could tell at least that it didn't sound like himself at all. Was this what Mera had been like for the last week? And what was this about instruments breaking? Jinmenken was shocked.

Had he already won?

"C'mon, Mera, don't be like this!" Garu said. "There's plenty of other things we could do..."

"Yeah!" Asekakki agreed, "We could just hang around like normal."

Mera shook his head. "I know that. I'm glad that you guys still wanna stay, but...this is gonna drive me too crazy."

"It's not like we can do anything about it, though," Garu pointed out. "Yo-kai mess with each other all the time, and—"

" _He_ had something to do with it. I know it," Mera gnarred. Garu didn't say anything else after that—presumably, he knew he couldn't fight Mera's instincts—perhaps, secretly, he too was suspicious.

Jinmenken wasn't sure how to react.

Poor Komasan, as though he didn't have enough to be confused about, was upset by Mera's sorrowful demeanor.

"Why is he like this, zura?" Komasan whimpered. His pupils suddenly shrank as he looked up at Jinmenken, giving off a mixture of betrayal and disbelief. "Is it really because of you, zura...?"

"I..." Jinmenken wished he could say it was. That was his goal, after all, wasn't it? But he hadn't done anything. The human-faced dog growled.

"...You know what? I think we're done here."

" _What?_ " Komasan said a little too loudly. Jinmenken instinctively put his paw over the lion-dog's mouth.

"B-but why? We just got here, zura!" Komasan continued despite being muffled by Jinmenken.

"Because...because! Just go. This was supposed to work differently," Jinmenken hissed.

"What was supposed to work differently, zura?" the vanilla komainu clutched his head with both paws. "You're mighty confusing, zura...!"

As Jinmenken and Komasan continued to bicker, the former desperately trying to cover up his true intentions as the latter bombarded him with concerned questioning, Komajiro snuck away and tiptoed down the stairs. He looked for that distinctive shadow the color of pen ink, and sure enough, he found it on the floor. Kaimu popped half their body out of the floor.

"That was almost too easy," they boasted. "Hehe, I think I even sent Jinmenken for a loop!"

Komajiro frowned. "I guess it's good that Mera's upset now...?" Komajiro never believed he would say such a thing in his life. "Still, he sounds more angry than straight up defeated. Maybe you shouldn't have done this so soon..."

Kaimu's eyes narrowed. "Are you questioning me, rookie?"

"N-no! Of course not!" Komajiro said defensively.

"Good," Kaimu replied confidently, "because I'm about to be right about something else." They pointed towards Komasan and Jinmenken, whose voices were getting increasingly sharper and louder as they argued, but just quiet enough so that they didn't overpower the Atti Soul Brothers desperately trying to console Mera on the other side of the house.

"...I don't like this anymore, zura!" Komasan blubbered. "If my brother and I are here as your friends, you shouldn't be being all...all...weird, zura!"

"When am I not weird?" Jinmenken mumbled dryly, hoping the light-hearted quip would get the bumpkin to switch gears before Jinmenken got madder and slipped, but Komasan's eyebrows were still crossed.

"You sure are being weirder than normal, zura! And I don't want to leave until you tell me what's going on, zura! I'm worried about Mera! And I'm worried about you! So just—"

"Would you just mind your own business, already?!" Jinmenken snapped, on the verge of breaking. He wasn't paying much attention to the conversation on the other side of the house, but he could pick out Mera's distinctive voice getting more agitated by the second—he was afraid he would bust him. Jinmenken regretted ever trying this. Why did he think this would work? He wanted to be the one to get revenge on Mera, not some external force that he had no idea about—and he wanted Mera to be discouraged, not angrier. The lion would kill him now, he was sure, for something he attempted to do but never got away with—and to top it off, here he was debating with Komasan, of all Yo-kai.

"This _is_ my business, zura!" Komasan said, his voice trembling from both anger and fear—he hated conflict. But the confusion stressed him out so, so much.

Stress. Stress here. Stress there. Why couldn't Jinmenken just sweep this under the rug.

"Look," Jinmenken growled, "if you know what's best for you, you'll get the hell out so we can forget this, okay?! Nobody will get anymore upset if you just leave."

Komajiro watched on in horror. Was he really letting Jinmenken curse at his brother? Komasan blurted out something about question dodging. Jinmenken threatened him again. On and on. On and on.

"Kaimu." Komajiro sputtered, turning to his partner. "We can't seriously let this continue. This is getting nowhe—"

"I JUST WANNA KNOW IF I CAN TRUST YOU, ZURA!" Komasan screeched.

Dead, cold silence. Silence in the basement, silence from the other side of the house. Everyone had definitely heard Komasan.

Komajiro looked over to Kaimu, but they had already faded back into the floor. Komajiro knew what was coming as soon as he heard footsteps pounding on the floor above.

Jinmenken was fuming. He glared at Komasan, his eyes daggers.

"Now you've gone and done it, you little piece o—"

There was a sudden _bang_ on the door. Komasan and Jinmenken were so startled that they tumbled down the stairs. Komajiro dove just in time to catch his brother, who squeezed him right as thanks before wriggling out of his arms. Jinmenken landed painfully on his back. He was too outraged to be held back by an injury—he immediately stood back up.

A crash.

Instinctively, the trio scattered towards the middle of the room as the door that had just been replaced was popped completely out of its place by a flaming fist. The wooden door slid down the stairs, landing flat on the floor near the last step.

At the top of the staircase stood an inferno.

Mera didn't jump down the steps or slide down the railing like he usually did, no. He took each step slowly and deliberately, stomping with the weight of a thousand elephants with each footsteps. Jinmenken, Komasan and Komajiro were frozen in fear. As Mera came closer, they noticed his mane had not only grown hotter, but taller—the tip of the flame had stretched upwards towards the ceiling and flickered like a candle. Garu, Asekakki, and Nobosetonman were all huddled around the door frame, unable to do anything but stand and watch, despite what their brains told them.

It took a full minute for Mera to finally reach Jinmenken, standing only five feet or so away from him, staring directly into his soul.

"What. Is. Going. On."

The Koma brothers yelped, having never heard Mera sound so furious—it was like something had stabbed them in the heart. Jinmenken was sweating profusely, but refused to back down.

"Well, now. I expected you to be upset, but n—"

Mera practically leapt forward, grabbing Jinmenken with one hand by his chest fluff.

" _Tell me._ What is this all about? Why did you involve those two? Tell me NOW!"

Jinmenken chuckled dryly. "And _I'm_ the one with anger issues?"

Mera said nothing and clutched harder. It was taking an awful lot of willpower not to throw Jinmenken to the ground.

"Fine," Jinmenken sighed, "you got me. I did intend to upset you today, but less in a 'I'm going to fucking kill you' way and in more of a 'I'm so done with this guy and I'm sorry I bothered him in the first place' way...? Guess that's not how it happened." He shook his head with a sardonic laugh. Mera was unamused. His expression remained unchanged."

"Well," Jinmenken continued, "if you want to know what I—"

"Save it."

Jinmenken blinked. "What?"

"I don't wanna know." Mera answered, voice choked by angry sobs. "I just can't freaking believe you. You have no idea how much I wanna beat the crap out of you right now."

"You just said, 'tell me now'."

"I changed my mind."

Jinmenken huffed. Teenagers. "Well, listen. I offered to sit around and not get in your way. You started this. I'm just finishing it. Or at least, that's what I was _going_ to do. Show you not to mess with me by raining on your parade. But, evidently, there was some...divine intervention, I guess."

Komajiro gulped. He felt like a bigger liar than Jinmenken was.

"...Anyway," Jinmenken went on, "after that discovery, I was ready to abort the plan and having to deal with more of your shit, I guess. And I would've gotten away with it, too—" Jinmenken suddenly shifted his glare towards a certain white dog, "if _someone_ knew how to do what he was told."

"Don't you _dare_ drag Komasan into this!" Mera shouted, the whole house shaking from his booming voice.

Komasan was looking down at the floor.

"I'm...I'm really sorry, zura!" Komasan blubbered. "I wanna be a good friend to you, but I can't support you if you're being—"

"We're not friends!" Jinmenken spat, making Komasan convulse. "I was _using_ you, ya dummy! Typical Komasan—always finding excuses to not cooperate!"

Komasan looked up. There were tears rolling down his bean-shaped face. "B-but—"

"Shut up already! You dumb—"

Jinmenken didn't finish as he felt the back of his head slam onto the carpet. Mera was on top of him, ready to rip all his fur off and scorch his bare skin. Atsugaruru couldn't watch anymore. He thundered down the stairs and attempted to pry the two apart, Nobosetonman and Asekkaki also offering their assistance, but the lion and poodle thrashed like rabid creatures and snorted like wildebeests.

Komasan couldn't take it anymore. He screamed and ran straight for the stairs. Komajiro felt like the dagger that had pierced his heart was now ripping it open, not leaving a single inch unscathed.

" _Nii-chan_!" He exclaimed, starting after his twin, but something popped up in front of him and grabbed him by the shoulders. Komajiro couldn't even look into his ally's eyes. He squirmed to get out of their surprisingly strong grip.

"Let me go! Let me go!" he shouted, "my _nii-chan_ needs m—"

"Get the jar." Kaimu commanded.

"No!" Komajiro protested.

"Do it!" Kaimu screeched, nearly crushing the lion-dog. "While they're preoccupied! Now's the time! _Now_!"

Komajiro couldn't fight it anymore. He reluctantly moved his arms, albeit slowly due to his current position, to undo his pack and retrieve the glass energy-storing jar. Kaimu's grip loosened slightly and he twisted it open, aiming it towards Mera.

A spiral-shaped, ethereal mechanism at the bottom of the jar spun and, sensing negative fuel from a soul it had not yet absorbed from, began filling itself up with a strange purple mist. As soon as it was full, Komajiro snapped it shut. He then thrusted the jar into Kaimu's hands.

"I need some time," he said quickly, noting that Kaimu looked satisfied, and then barged out of the room, calling after his brother desperately. Kaimu looked at the swirling mass of energy with awe. Finally. Every single Yo-kai in the world. It would soon be time.

Komajiro also knew that he had succeeded in what he had come here to do. He wanted to be proud, but he knew he really did nothing worth praising.

Nothing besides watch two people he considered friends lose themselves to the devil.

Nothing besides watch as his dear brother's innocence was shattered.

Nothing besides bring the war to the point of no return.

* * *

 **Localization index:**

 **Komasan and Komajiro are...well, Komasan and Komajiro. Tried to mesh their dub mannerisms with their original catchphrases without making them clash too much. In the dub, "Monge" is "oh my swirls!" and "zura" doesn't have a direct replacement, but the closest thing is "y'all". I feel like this is common knowledge, however.**

 **My plan is to get the sixth chapter out by next week, the week after the latest. Unfortunately, after chapter six, you probably won't be seeing updates for a while - I'm on an athletic team until late October and that along with school will be eating my time. Not to mention Yo-kai Watch 2...but on the bright side, there's only three chapters left! We're gettting closer and closer to the climax...**


	6. Chapter 6: Explosion

**Are you ready for this one? It's a doozy.**

* * *

Some time after the Koma brothers fled the scene, Garu made an emergency call to Gulagulion as Nobosetonman and Asekkaki did as best as they could to keep Meramelion and Jinmenken away from each other. It was no easy task; even their size and muscle mass could not keep the two rivals from writhing around as though they were about to be taken to be executed, spitting insults at each other like children. It was Gula, who arrived in ten minutes flat, that finally managed to break the two apart, just as he had done such a short time ago. The Atti Soul Brothers left once the dust settled, apologizing profusely to Mera, who was too despondent to even thank them.

And so the house went back to being bathed in a disquieting silence for a day or two, just as it had been so many times before. Yet whereas before everyone simply avoided each other, this time there was no hiding the level of tension throughout the household. This was mostly due to the fact that Gula simply did not fix the basement door or even make an attempt to lock Jinmenken up, finally deciding that keeping him separate like a caged animal would do no good. This meant the man-dog hybrid was free to roam the lions' living space and leave the house if he needed to, which didn't happen that much. He only came up for food and water and then went straight back to the basement, simmering in an unpleasant mixture of rage, confusion, and sadness. He and Otonabull were, yet again, no longer on speaking terms. The young bulldog occasionally would stand next to him for a few minutes in an attempt to find something, anything, to say to him to make him feel better, but Jinmenken would snap at him to go away—now he was out of the house alone even more than usual.

Gula had skipped out on work and was now finding it difficult to do much of anything besides lie on the couch. He wouldn't dare tell Mera, who was so upset with the world that he spent hours at a time beating up his pillow, but he really blamed himself for all of this. Gula was nice to a fault—that was common knowledge—but he usually thought through big decisions like this, especially when it came to assisting a total stranger in such a big way. Jinmenken had fallen behind in rent weeks ago—it's not like he had any money to give, although Gula naïvely believed he did. He couldn't help but wonder if some outside force had made him do this, but he pushed the thought out of his head. He was a man. He had to own up to his actions. He noticed as the hours trudged by that, even though Jinmenken and his brother hadn't spoken a word to each other, the air in the room felt heavier whenever they would briefly cross paths during mutual eating times. A fight could break out at any moment. It was incredibly vexing.

The final straw for Gula was when he turned on the TV to unwind. Instead of being greeted with some mundane comedy show or reality TV, another Kakutimes breaking news report flashed across the screen.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Kakusan exclaimed, "We're back again with some more exhilarating Yo-kai drama! Sure has been a busy news day, huh, Aita?"

Aita laughed heartily. "You've got that right! This is the fifth story today!" The yellow devil wiggled with glee. "Ah, I can't get enough!"

"Ooh, same here!" Kakusan replied. Gula was beginning to doze off, deciding that those two nimrods would have nothing important to say.

"Anyway!" Kakusan continued, "I'm sure you all remember that savory bit from a little over a week ago about that little angry mob in downtown Sakura! Aita, give us a little recap, will ya?"

Aitatatimes grumbled something about being treated like a subordinate before going into his recap. "We were made aware by one of those that participated in the event that the perpetrator of this little spectacle was none other than the well-known blazing Yo-kai himself, Isamashi tribe's Meramelion!"

Gula's eyes shot open at the mention of his brother's name just as he was about to fall asleep. He blinked rapidly just in time to notice a picture of his brother's face had popped up on screen behind Aitatatimes. He had missed the context, but he had a bad feeling—a pit began to grow in his stomach.

"Oh! Oh! I know that guy!" Kakusan interrupted. "Good kid, but man, he should try yoga or something! Har-har!"

Aita turned to his partner. "Shut yer yap and let me finish!" he shouted, then turned back to the audience.

"Now this is the good part. We were told that the house he was raiding wasn't someone else's house, but his _own house_!"

"That's rich!" Kakusan chimed in.

"And it gets even better! Y'see, as it turns out, this house is actually a dual residence! The lower floor is home to—you're not gonna believe this—this guy!"

Aita snapped his fingers and a mugshot of Jinmenken replaced Mera's. Gula wanted to turn the TV off, but his eyes were glued to the screen.

Kakusan burst into a fit of hysterics. "Can you believe it?! _That_ guy! Bukimi tribes's Jinmenken—now that's a name I haven't heard in a while! The last time he was relevant was when they deported the fool to America! Good times..."

" _Anyway_..." Aitatatimes shot Kakusan a sharp look before looking back towards the audience. "We found out that the whole ordeal was the result of a personal spat between these two Yo-kai, and while we don't have all the details, we know that Meramelion possessed all those Yo-kai just to attack Jinmenken—and there was a huge fight! Oh, man, do I regret not having footage of that!"

"Now, with the recap out of the way..." Kakusan gestured towards the image behind him, which once again changed. This time, to Gula's shock, it changed to a live video feed of at least a hundred assorted Yo-kai gathered in the middle of Yokyo, seemingly debating something.

"A source that wishes to remain anonymous has informed us that this scuffle has evolved to new levels," Kakusan said. "Just yesterday, according to our source, the ever-popular Komasan was seen running out of the house! Someone hit him up to ask what was wrong, and it turns out even he got involved in the fight! Well, that sure got people riled up!"

"As it turns out, many curious Yo-kai have been piecing together events from the last few weeks," Aita continued from where Kakusan left off. "An incident near the local Yoroz Mart, a chase around the city, the angry mob...and now this! They're all related to this rivalry!"

Kakusan pointed to the screen behind him. "Hungry for discourse, Yo-kai from all over have been weighing in on the whole shabam! This dynamic group has been in Yokyo's central gathering place all day long arguing over which one of the two enemies is in the right! Oh, man, it's a _zoo_ out there!" The block Yo-kai went quiet so Gula could hear the feed's audio. Gula felt ill as he listened to a cacophony of voices screaming over each other. Some Yo-kai, he noticed, were even holding picket signs with either Mera's or Jinmenken's face on them.

"Hoo-wee!" Aitatatimes said, wiping sweat off his brow. "I don't think it'd be a stretch to say that this is the biggest disruption in the social hierarchy since the Ganso and Honke wars! What a show!"

"Absolutely!" Kakusan agreed. "Hell, we might as well call this Yo-kai World War T—"

Gula decided he couldn't take it anymore. He switched off the television and threw the remote across the room.

Enough was enough. He had made a decision.

"I'm ending our deal."

Mera and Jinmenken said nothing in response, instead standing with their backs to each other with their arms folded, not even eyeing Gula. The red lion had made a risky move by asking the two of them to talk to him together and was positive it would be any minute until they just started beating on each other.

"I _said_ ," Gula repeated sternly, "it's over. I'm evicting Jinmenken."

The two of them finally turned towards him, just staring, eyes narrowed. A bead of sweat fell down the back of Gula's neck.

"...It's, uh, effective immediately. That means you should probably start packing up."

Nothing.

"I'll even help with the furniture if you want..."

Nothing.

Gula sighed, exasperated. "...Listen. I know it's terrible to lay you off when you have nowhere to go, but it's because—"

"I know why," Jinmenken muttered suddenly. "There's no door, you know."

"And the TV was loud," Mera added.

"Oh...so you heard." Gula looked down at his feet. Jinmenken simply shrugged.

"Whatever. I get it. I'll start packing later."

"...Okay, then." Gula expected more of a protest. Yelling, bitter remarks, anything. But then he remembered the social situation and figured Jinmenken would probably be better off in the streets again than here.

"I'm gonna go out for a walk. Maybe make sure Otonabull is alright," Jinmenken stated. He didn't even wait for a reply before leaving the room. He was free now, after all.

The front door snapped shut. For the first time in weeks, the lion brothers were all alone.

Gula was perplexed when Mera didn't start crying tears of joy or even reacting in any manner, really. He was still just standing there, arms folded, back turned.

"This is what you wanted, right?" Gula piped up anyway.

"Maybe a couple weeks ago," Mera mumbled wistfully. "Doesn't really matter now. It won't change everything that's happened. The damage has been done."

Gula frowned and put his hand on Mera's shoulder. "I'm really sorry, Mera. About all of this."

"It's not you," Mera said with a single shake of the head. "You tried everything you could. It's..." Mera paused.

"You know what? I don't know whose fault it is anymore. I forgot a long time ago."

Gula felt tears coming to his eyes, but he blinked them back as hard as he could. He had to stay strong. For Mera's sake.

"Isn't there anything you could do to resolve this?"

"Well, I've been thinking, and...I don't know." Mera perked up for just an instant.

"...But I know someone who might."

Gula raised an eyebrow. "And who might that be?"

Mera turned his whole body around to face his brother. He gave him the signature Mera look—irises blazing, eyebrows furrowed in a determined manner.

"Big bro."

Gula raised his other eyebrow. "You don't mean Usepp...?"

"Come on now, dude," Mera said with an eye roll.

Gula chuckled dryly. Mera could tell he knew who he was really talking about. Gula let out a sigh.

"You can't call Todoki."

"And why not?" Mera whined.

"Because you know Todoki! He's probably too _busy_ for this." Gula huffed on the word "busy".

"Look," Mera said, his tone solemn, "I know you two don't see eye to eye on everything, but Todoki loves us more than anyone else in the world. Lions live in packs, right? I know he'd never truly abandon us."

"...And if I couldn't get you through this, what makes you think he can?"

"Todoki can do anything. If he couldn't, he wouldn't be one of the most successful Yo-kai ever." Mera noticed Gula was pouting and wondered if his brother was experiencing a twinge of jealously.

"...I'm not saying you aren't good enough, if that's what you think..."

Gula waved a hand dismissively. "Not really...it's just...I really don't want him to break your heart, okay?" There was a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Gula." Mera said softly, looking deep into his brother's eyes. "Please. He's my last hope."

That last part stung Gula's heart. He remembered how terrible he had felt the last week or so seeing Mera so downtrodden. If he really only had one glimpse of hope left...

"...Okay. I gotcha," Gula said, choking back sobs. He cried a lot, but he couldn't remember a time where he cried due to sadness so many times in one week. Mera walked over and embraced him.

"It's gonna be okay," Mera assured him. Frankly, he wasn't sure if he was talking to Gula or himself.

It was with resolve that Mera dialed up his brother on his rather old-fashioned cell phone, a simple black flip phone with a sticker of a flame he had slapped on it. He was sitting pretzel-style on his bed, staring absentmindedly out the window. It had begun to drizzle, though there was still a sliver of sunlight touching the ground from above. As the phone rang for a solid twenty seconds, Mera wondered if he'd be sent through to the answering machine. On what seemed to be the very last ring, he heard his brother's smooth, animated voice on the other end:

"You've reached the business desk of Isamashi tribe's Todorokijishi. If you're looking to schedule a private appointment, I'll have to put you through to my age—"

"Todoki?"

There was a pause on the other end. Mera heard his brother swallow.

"Oh...Mera? Is that you?" His tone had changed drastically from before. Mera couldn't quite place the emotion, but it was definitely not a tone of voice he had ever heard out of his eldest brother.

"...Yeah."

"Uh...long time no talk, huh, buddy?" Todoki's tried to sound chipper, but Mera could still sense the unease. Regardless, he let out a small chuckle.

"Ha...yeah. Hey, listen. I'd love to chat with you, really, but...I kinda need your help."

There was more silence on the other end.

"...Todoki..."

"...Sorry," Todoki replied. "I just didn't think you would call this soon."

Mera knitted his eyebrows.

"What does that mean?" He asked nervously.

"...You, uh..." Mera heard a sigh on the other end, which was slightly crackled due to the phone. "...you didn't think I had found out?"

Mera was about to open his mouth to speak again when it hit him like a brick.

"You mean you heard about what's going on?" He asked, bewildered.

Todoki gave an awkward laugh. "I mean...I hate to break it to you, kiddo, but I think _everyone_ knows."

"Everyone?"

"Everyone. What else do Yo-kai have to entertain themselves with?"

Entertainment. So that's what the emotional pain of everyone directly involved was to the masses. Just a show. He should've known based on the news report. Yet another reason he had to end this.

"So, like..." Mera shifted uncomfortably. "what do you think about it, then...?"

Todoki made a clicking noise with his tongue. "I...I don't know. I didn't believe it at first. I didn't think you were capable of getting into a fight like this."

"...Me neither."

"So why'd you let it happen?"

This question threw Mera for a loop. He wasn't entirely sure who really "let it happen"—it just did. It spawned from anger and instability. But Mera knew he was in the right—he knew it in his gut. Something pushed him to keep fighting. But how could he put that into words...?

"So you don't know, then," said Todoki after a few seconds of silence.

"I do know! He's...he's just..." Mera wasn't sure how to finish.

"So what do you want from me, then?" Todoki said, almost a bit sharply. "If you don't even know why you're fighting with him, how is anyone supposed to fix anything?"

"I don't know!" Mera exclaimed. "That's why I called you! I want you to come over and help!"

"Well, gee, kiddo. I'm only human...er, Yo-kai. You know what I mean. This really sounds like something you should handle yourself."

"I tried!" Mera whined. "We all tried! Gula, my best friends...nothing worked. Whenever we're in the same room—even when we're _not_ in the same room, he does something that makes me mad!"

"And you don't do anything to make _him_ mad?"

"No! Well...maybe."

Todoki blew air out of his lips, making a long "pfft" sound.

"Look, kiddo. Besides the fact that you really don't seem to have any idea what's going on anymore, the truth is...I can't get involved in this. At all."

Mera's chest started to ache. "What? Why not?"

"Well, for one, I don't have the time. I have so many appointments scheduled for today it isn't even funny—you were lucky enough to catch me on some downtime."

"Can't you reschedule them?"

"I mean, technically, yes. But certain Yo-kai really don't like it when things get postponed—do you know how many angry customers have come barging through my office door when I've had to cancel? And anyway, that's not the only reason. I hate to break it to you, kiddo, but this whole thing seems awfully petty. It wouldn't be good for my reputation to—"

"So you care more for your reputation, than your brother, is that it?!" Mera accused, tears filling up in his eyes. Please, no.

"No! Of course not! I mean...my reputation is important _because_ of you and Gula. If I lose all my sponsorships and endorsement deals, I'll never be able to support you two."

"Gula says you don't support us anyway!"

"That isn't true!" Todoki scoffed. "Listen, the way money works isn't easy, alright? I'm doing my best."

Mera was sniffling now. "You're one of the richest Yo-kai ever! Why can't you just make an _effort_ to come here a-and—"

"You need to calm down, Mera," Todoki instructed. "You're definitely putting words in my mouth. If I could afford to come down there and figure something out, I would."

"There you go with _afford_ again!" Mera was shouting into the phone. Gula was in the living room, hearing him, but trying to block it out. He could almost hear his own voice arguing with Todoki over the exact same things.

"Ugh!" Todoki sighed with frustration. "Mera, I love you. But you need to learn when to accept no for an answer and stop getting so overly emotional. Maybe that's what got you into this fight in the first place—"

"YOU'RE SO COLD, TODOKI!" Mera cried. He pressed the "end call" button—it was almost as though his fingers moved for him—and threw the phone across the room. He dashed out of the bedroom as the phone clattered to the floor and slammed the door behind him. Gula knew exactly what happened. He tried to chase after Mera to console him, but he had already swung open the front door, tears trailing behind him as he ran off wailing.

He didn't know where he was going.

He didn't care.

"Away" was the only place that mattered.

The entire Yo-kai population may have been in chaos that day, but not the sewer gang. They were, in fact, more organized than they ever had been, and jubilant as well. Their perfect plan had finally succeeded. They were ready.

Except for one.

While the rest of the group was going over the final preparations, Komajiro was off to the side anxiously rocking back and forth. He couldn't forgive himself for what he had caused at Mera and Jinmenken's house. Well, it was really Kaimu that did all the work—Komajiro was excited to contribute to his team at first, but he didn't really have the heart after all. He was sorry for instigating the whole war in general, but above all else, he felt pain for his brother, who had never been called names in his entire life. Even today he wasn't quite the same happy-go-lucky person as always. It made Komajiro sick, but he knew he deserved this pain for abandoning his brother, for engaging in something so big under his nose.

However, Komajiro decided, he wasn't going to let this all be for nothing. When he had been recruited in the street so long ago, he was down in the dumps, pining for an opportunity to be independent again and go on his own adventures as he had when he and Komasan had first visited the city. Yamimaro promised him that—and more. The sewer gang couldn't survive without a constant supply of negative energy. He would be a hero for helping them harvest the ultimate supply. And most importantly, he was offered companionship. He loved his brother dearly, but he wanted his own friends too, and this is what he had hoped he would have once the mission was said and done. And here they were—the mission was complete. Yet the rest of the group was whispering among themselves about something seemingly bigger, and they hadn't even bothered to include Komajiro. Something was up. Still, he approached cautiously and cleared his throat.

The group slowly turned towards him.

"Can we help you?" Uma asked, sounding slightly disinterested.

"Um...yeah." Komajiro looked off to the side as he talked. "I ain't missing out on anything, am I? 'Cause we did it, right...? Did...did I do a good job?"

Uma sniggered and began to speak, but Yamimaro put his hand in front of him. He gave Komajiro a huge smile, but something about it didn't seem so friendly.

"Oh, Komajiro. You were a _great_ help," Yamimaro said.

Komajiro blushed. "W-well, shucks, I'm glad I could help you see it through—"

"Through? Oh, we're far from _through_."

The color in Komajiro's face drained as fast as it had flooded. "...What now?"

Kaimu shuffled forward. "M'lord, we didn't tell him yet."

"That's what I'm going to do now, you imbecile!" Yamimaro snapped, causing Kaimu to shrink back again.

"Tell me what?!" Komajiro shouted, fear in his voice.

"Well," Yamimaro sneered, "I hate to break it to you, but did I say you've been a great help? I meant you've been a great _pawn_."

The lion-dog's heart skipped a beat. "P-pawn...? But you said—"

"Forget what I said!" Yamimaro interrupted, swiping his hand in the air in front of him. "They were all lies! And you fell for them!" Yamimaro began cackling.

"How typical of a country bumpkin!"

Komajiro felt tears pooling in his eyes. No. This couldn't be happening.

"I didn't fall for anything!" Komajiro shouted in an attempt to look tough. He regretted it that same instant—oh, how stupid it sounded! Of course he fell for it—whatever "it" was.

"To his credit," Uma pointed out, "perhaps he wouldn't have fallen for it if _I_ hadn't made him agree to assisting us. Magasasu might be a doofus, but boy, am I blessed to share his power!" He laughed devilishly.

Komajiro gritted his teeth, desperately trying to hold back tears. So he was forced to trust them, even though deep down he knew it would get him into trouble. How could he forget? He had gotten so wrapped up in all the excitement...maybe he really was a dumb country bumpkin.

Komajiro was shaking now. The group laughed at him derisively.

"This almost hurts to watch," Kaimu remarked, rolling their eyes.

"It'll be over soon, hoo~" said Shinigamidori. "Once he's a directionless drone, he won't struggle so pathetically anymore! Hoo hoo hoo~!"

Komajiro wasn't sure what they meant by "drone", but he didn't want to find out, he made a mad dash for the Ungaikyo in the corner, but just as it was within reach, both his arms were seized. He looked to his left and right frantically. Kaimu and Shinigamidori stood on either side of him, the latter squeezing his arm with its talons.

"Oh, yes!" Yamimaro howled, "You will make an excellent test subject indeed!"

Komajiro squirmed as hard as he could. "I-I'm gonna—"

Kaimu loosened one arm to brandish their shuriken and put it to Komajiro's neck. "You're gonna stay still if you value your life, that's what you're gonna do," they threatened.

Komajiro stopped struggling. He looked down at the floor, noticing his own tears falling like raindrops.

" _Nii-chan_..." Komajiro muttered without thinking. Yamimaro was still laughing his bald head off.

"Oh, you'll be joining ' _nii-chan_ ' soon enough...too bad you both won't care!"

The gray demon threw some sort of multi-colored key at Shinigamidori, who caught it in its beak.

"Take him to the other test subject deeper in the sewer," Yamimaro ordered. Komajiro wasn't sure how they would accomplish that until his captors turned around. As it turned out, one of the walls wasn't a wall at all, but a giant closed door that only someone with the key could open—Komajiro was never told.

Komajiro felt like garbage as Yamimaro and Uma's cackles echoed throughout the hall where he was being led, presumably to be imprisoned for a while. The fact that he was possessed when he accepted the offer to help didn't stop him from feeling like it was his fault—in fact, it made it worse. Plus, he didn't know what the negative energy stash was being used for, but he could tell it was for something terrible.

He wasn't sure if things would ever be the same again, but he did hope for one thing.

He hoped Mera and Jinmenken would somehow find out about how they had been manipulated as well. Maybe, just maybe, if they knew...

No. Komajiro remembered with despair that they were too busy fighting each other. They would fight until the very end.

After a long, stressful walk, Komajiro was finally thrown against the wall in a dark room. The stench of waste was even stronger here than it was in the other room, and the only brightness was a large, dull, purple light. The light seemed to be coming from behind him, he turned his head and gasped at the massive machine he saw. The majority of the mechanism was a giant, cubic container holding what seemed to be all of the negative energy. So this is where they were keeping it. His stomach churned as he realized that his brother's energy was somewhere in that mix. Attached to the mechanism was also some sort of blaster, though he could only barely make out the shape.

As Komajiro looked around some more, he noticed that not far to his right was what appeared to be another Yo-kai—small, something of a humanoid, and something solid and grainy was pooled underneath them. He opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the sound of flapping wings. Shinigamidori went over to the mechanism and, using its beak, pushed a few buttons before aiming the blaster at them. Komajiro was petrified.

"Say goodnight, hoo~" Shinigamidori taunted. A bunch of energy began to gather at the tip of the blaster. Before Komajiro could so much as scream, his vision was flooded with purple. Just like a negative possession, except he felt...strangely calm.

Too calm.

Suddenly, he felt woozy. He couldn't piece together coherent thoughts in his head anymore. Soon, everything he was feeling drained from his mind—the fear, the anger, the regret. He wasn't sure what it was replaced with. A strange mixture of tranquility and empathy. His vision blurred. He slowly forgot where he was. It didn't matter. Wait, what? Of course it did...no, it didn't...no...nothing mattered...

The concentrated negative energy flowed through his brain, through his bloodstream. His body went numb, and he knew he was losing consciousness. He desperately tried to hang on. He pictured Komasan's smiling face in his head. But he was rapidly losing all his strength, all his will. Komasan's image blurred and faded into the darkness of his own mind. Nothing mattered. He was nothing. The world was nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing.

His last conscious thought was about wondering why his chest hurt. It felt like a weight was pressing down on it, like something was crushing it into a pulp. Escape...escape was so nice...escape from emotion...nothing was worth the pain.

Nothing.

Komajiro became nothing.

Jinmenken had half-lied when he said he would go look for Otonabull. He would eventually, but first he needed some real quiet. He headed up to the must peaceful place he knew, Oomori Yama—the mountaintop forest.

The human-faced dog stood on a short cliffside overlooking the forest's large pond. It was raining moderately; the sky was dyed the color of pebble and the ground was moist, yet not quite muddy. The pond rippled as raindrops came beating down on it. The only noise, besides the pleasant murmur of the rainfall, came from the chirping of birds and insects.

Jinmenken tried to focus on his surroundings. He let the rain dampen his fur and the smell of the woods fill his nostrils. Every so often, a small gust would blow by, tickling the inside of his ears. It felt good. It would have felt great, even, if he wasn't absolutely sick to his stomach.

His head was pounding. It had been for the last few of days. Between all the stress and the begging of his brain for alcohol, it was unbearable for a while. Then he got focused on his plot for revenge, and the pain was pushed into the background. Now it had come back to haunt him in the downtime, and Jinmenken felt like it would make him pass out eventually. It wasn't just physical pain, either.

Jinmenken knew he screwed up. His only friends besides Otonabull probably hated him now. Soon enough, Otonabull would, too. But what else was new? If one looked up "failure" in the dictionary, his face would be the accompanying picture. Ever since the day he died, it was something else. With each failure came another wave of depression, each worse than the last. What had brought it on again just prior to being kicked out of his alleyway was the pressure he faced with "adopting" Otonabull—he didn't have a job. He didn't even have a home. He had nothing for the kid. It reminded him of how useless he was. Even the recent song battle, which he had attended hoping for a miracle, ended in another few weeks in jail. It wasn't the imprisonment that bothered him; the cops were so tired of seeing his face that his sentences were ridiculously short. It was what imprisonment resembled—his inability to succeed. Alcohol was the only thing giving him temporary relief. Oh, right. He was showing his kid alcoholism. Great example!

The last few weeks had only worsened his self-loathing, yet at the same time provided periodic distractions from it. They had gone by so fast and yet so slow. Each day was a struggle, yet it already felt like so long ago that he had agreed to live with Gula. Was he really going to pay for rent? No. Of course not. But just a little time under a roof was nice. Or at least it would have been, if not for Mera and his antics.

Truth be told, though all the assumptions that he was going to commit a crime annoyed him (because he really wasn't—unless not paying Gula was a criminal offense, but the deal was never made a legal matter, so that barely counted), he had to admit that Mera tried more than he did to be friendly. Maybe Jinmenken really _did_ need some motivation. Maybe being alone isn't what he really wanted, but he was too stubborn to ever admit such a thing. Still, he couldn't quite agree with Mera's method of doing things—he needed to be lead into a recovery process gradually, not thrusted into one. And Mera certainly wasn't calm enough to listen to his problems. But Mera was persistent. Things had to be done _his_ way. And if they weren't done his way, he'd attack you.

Or at least, that's what Jinmenken had learned from this ordeal.

Perhaps his memories of the conflict were exaggerated. He barely remembered if he had done anything wrong until the other day. He only had his instinct to go by. And his instinct told him he had to be mad at Mera. Eliminating Mera would eliminate his problems. He could forget all the pain.

"I feel the same way about you," came a familiar voice.

Jinmenken jumped and turned around. Behind him stood his rival, mane swaying in the wind. It was at that moment Jinmenken realized he had been thinking out loud—a bad habit he could not seem to break

"Oh," was his only response.

The two were quiet for a few seconds. They figured if they stared at each other hard enough, the other would go away. That's not how it happened, unfortunately.

"What are you doing here?" Jinmenken asked.

Mera shrugged. "I dunno. I was just running without thinking. I came to the shrine, and then I heard a voice...turns out it was yours."

"So I guess it was just a coincidence, huh."

Mera nodded begrudgingly. His face was still stained with tears, though thankfully it was masked by the rain—he really didn't need to give Jinmenken a reason to mock him.

"...So you're just mad at everything too, huh," Mera finally said.

"Oh, no, there's a good reason..."

"And what is that?"

"Everything sucks."

"That's what I thought." Mera let out a heavy sigh.

"You really are the worst, honestly."

Jinmenken raised an eyebrow. "Pardon?"

"You put me and Gula and everyone else through all this crap...because you were too _prideful_ to tell me the truth?"

"Oh, yeah, because you would have been willing to listen to me anyway."

Mera gritted his teeth. "Look, I had a reason to be suspicious, okay? I fight for others. I fight for my family and friends. I was just trying to protect them...but you? You argued because you're just too selfish."

" _I'm_ selfish?" Jinmenken snorted. "Didn't you hear everything I just said? We could've gotten through this earlier if you weren't so unchanging in your ways. You could've respected me, and you didn't. Until the band practice, I respected you. I didn't like you, you were annoying as hell, but I respected you. But _you_ kept making it out to be like I was the next mass murderer or something, _you_ tried to be the hero when I was having a damn alcoholic episode as though it would change a thing, _you_ tried to get a fuckin' mob of Yo-kai to attack me. And for what?"

"Justice," Mera answered, puffing his chest out.

"Justice?" Jinmenken sneered, "What justice? There was no justice to be had. Is this war 'justice' to you? Is this what you wanted, Meramelion?"

Mera was silent.

"So your distrust led your emotions astray," Jinmenken continued. "Just admit it. Just admit that you were the one who instigated this. You know that I know what mistakes I made, so just fucking _admit_ it."

Mera refused to back down. "At least I didn't try to humiliate you in front of _your_ friends."

Jinmenken groaned. "Okay, okay, fine. That has nothing to do with what I just asked if you, but...I admit I didn't think that whole plan through. But can you blame me for wanting to laugh in your face after you—oh, yeah— _possessed over twenty Yo-kai to attack me?!_ "

"You almost killed a little girl!" Mera retorted.

"You tackled me down in the street!"

"You abused my brother's trust!"

"You scared the pants off of Otonabull!"

"So did you. At least I didn't hurt my own family."

"Argh!" Jinmenken threw his arms up in the air. "What the hell is the point of this? We're just flinging shit at each other now! None of this makes any sense!" Jinmenken suddenly jumped off of the cliff, landing on all fours before slowly standing up to glare at Mera.

"It doesn't matter how it started. It only matters how it ends. The whole world is watching us now."

Mera clenched his fists. He remembered his brother's words. _You don't even know why you're fighting him_.

"It _does_ matter how it started!" Mera shouted, stomping one foot on the ground. "If you would just admit that you started it—"

"You mean if _you_ would admit that _you_ started it—"

"TODOROKIJISHI WOULD HAVE COME HOME!" Mera powered over Jinmenken, his voice so loud that nearby birds flew away in fear. Jinmenken had to laugh a bit.

"Oh. I get it. That's the _big_ big brother you're talking about, right? The 'best guy in the world'. So much for that." He shook his head. "Maybe you just got a little too annoying for him—"

Mera tackled him.

Suddenly they were rolling around in the grass and dirt, a whirling tempest of brown and orange, of red and green flame. They hissed and growled and barked and mewled as they let it all out with a fury of scratches and bites. All the arguing, all the stress, all the finger-pointing. It all led up to this. Both of them knew from the moment Mera took the first strike that there was no ending it peacefully. By the end of this fight, one of them would have a soul separate from their body. Their brains hurt. Their hearts ached. The violence was so cathartic.

It was almost as senseless as the war itself, but so, so cathartic.

The two of them finally stopped tumbling after a while. Mera was mounted on top of Jinmenken, right arm clinging to the other's chest fur, both of them panting heavily. Thunder crashed in the background and the raindrops pelted their grime-covered bodies, washing away some of the dirt. Mera roared and threw a hook punch to Jinmenken's temple with his free hand. The poodle howled in pain; his surroundings became warped and dimmed, but his adversary's flaming mane towering over him kept him focused. As Mera went in for another punch, he thrusted forward an open palm to parry it. A shock went down both of their arms and through to their shoulder blades. With all of his strength, Jinmenken wrapped his legs around Mera's torso and then pulled his head towards him with both arms. He headbutted him with a grunt, and both of them recoiled as their skulls felt like they were going to burst. Mera's grip on Jinmenken loosened, so the canine managed to roll him over. Now he was the one one top.

Jinmenken snarled. He clamped down on Mera's biceps with his paws and bared his fangs. He went in to chomp down on Mera's neck, but unfortunately, he had grabbed Mera's strong arm with his weak one. Mera wriggled his arm free and punched his foe in the mouth, popping out a tooth in the process. Jinmenken flinched and cried painfully, but refused to leave himself open, holding his week arm out in front of him. It did no good. With an enraged yell, Mera conjured up flames to surround his fist and, with all his might, threw a punch to Jinmenken's strong arm. Jinmenken lost his grip and, now with two weakened arms, was helpless to stop Mera from once again getting on top of him.

The feline wasted no time in exposing his claws. He scratched and scratched and scratched, scratched so hard he almost destroyed Jinmenken's nose. Lines of blood covered Jinmenken's face. A part of Mera wanted to stop; drawing blood was enough, but he kept wailing on his head with closed fists, the volume of Jinmenken's cries increasing with each strike. Jinmenken decided he had enough. He tried to sit up—his shoulders screamed, his face felt like the fires of hell, his head was pounding, but he lifted his shoulder blades off the ground and opened his maw wide. When Mera went for the next punch, he closed his jaw around the lion's fist. His adversary gasped. Jinmenken sunk his needle-like teeth into it as though it were a meal, and Mera yowled. The bitter taste of blood tickled the canine's taste buds; his primal instincts urged him to sink in further, tearing off skin. It felt like paradise. Mera was in immense pain, but the pain only sent more adrenaline surging through his veins. With his other hand, he seized the human-faced dog's throat. The other Yo-kai was so absorbed in biting that he didn't notice he was being choked until he felt his strength ebbing away. Panicking, he let go of Mera's fist and used whatever he had left to conjure a purple flame inside of his mouth. He hacked it at Mera's face, and the flames clawed at the other's fur. He let go of Jinmenken and threw himself to the ground, rubbing his face in the dirt to sniff it out. Jinmenken's lungs wailed as he gulped in air. But he wasn't finished. Neither was his opponent.

Using whatever strength they had left, they forced their bodies up off of the ground. Both of them were bleeding, bruised, and tattered. It meant nothing to them. They were more than animal-like Yo-kai—they _were_ animals. They ran at each other once more, bodies limping, ready to brawl until dawn if need be.

At that moment, in the blink of an eye, an extremely powerful violet aura washed over them like a wave during a storm. Some sort of energy overwhelmed their senses. They stopped in their tracks and realized that everything in their vision had turned purple. Their ears were ringing and they thought they were going to pass out...but something in the pit of their chests burned, and slowly but surely their vision cleared and the world quieted down again. They blinked rapidly before looking around frantically. The birds had fallen out of the sky and lay on the ground, alive but dazed, not making a peep. The song of the insects had disappeared. Even the

color of the bamboo chutes had dulled and leaves began to fall off of the trees. Everything felt...lifeless.

Mera heard a _thud_. Jinmenken had fainted in front of him; his adrenaline must have faded away as soon as the fight was interrupted and his body gave out on him. Mera could have finished him off if he wanted, but he refused.

Something was terribly wrong.

* * *

 **Localization index:**

 **Oomori Yama = Mt. Wildwood**

 **Something I should have mentioned before, but Isamashi = Brave tribe and Bukimi = Eerie tribe.**

 **This was quite the exciting chapter to write. And this isn't even the true climax! All of your burning questions will be answered next chapter, our second-to-last. Unfortunately, I wouldn't expect to see it for quite a while. My schedule is going to be a bit rigorous for a couple of months. I will try to have it finished before the end of October.**


	7. Chapter 7: The Smoke Clears

**Another self-imposed deadline I just BARELY made on time. Phew. Hope you guys didn't think I'd abandoned the project! Enjoy the longest chapter I've ever written.**

* * *

The void.

That is what the strange world Meramelion was in felt like. It certainly wasn't the world he knew. There was no sound. The rain had come to a dead stop. Not even the slightest breeze glanced his cheeks. The stillness made his chest seize.

Mera uneasily plodded towards the lake, which could be reached by walking around the short cliff on which he had found his adversary standing while the forest was still teeming with life. Upon his arrival, he gently moved his hand along the foliage springing up from the ground. It was unusually dry, wilted, and withered. The river connected to the pond was barely flowing. The dark silhouettes of fish hovered in place, making not so much as a small ripple on the surface of the water.

The feline turned to the pond. It was full from the rain, but murky and eerily still. He leaned over and looked at his reflection, which was almost like a shadow given the color of the water. He was slightly shocked by the bruised, bloodied, weary-looking face staring back at him. He could barely believe it was him. But ultimately, it would not matter—being a Yo-kai, minor injuries often healed at a faster rate than those of a human. That fact, however, did little to comfort him, as it did nothing about the problem at hand. He was alone in a strangely warped world, plagued with regret and pain.

...But was he truly alone?

As fast as he could manage, he darted back to where he came from. Jinmenken was still there lying face first on the grass. Mera knelt down over his rival. The poodle's figure rose and fell steadily with each breath. So he wasn't dead—just a few minutes ago, Mera deducted, that would've been a good thing to him. But suddenly, it was different.

Mera nudged Jinmenken's torso. No response. He tried again. Nothing. He let out a frustrated grunt as he placed his hand on the other's back and shook him. Mera heard a pained grunt, muffled by the ground yet still sharp. Mera, perhaps a bit too relieved at the prospect of another conscious soul, rolled him over onto his back, not quite gently enough. Mera winced at the brief cry let out by Jinmenken. The canine blinked rapidly. His world was still spinning. The pain hadn't dulled at all, and it wouldn't for a while due to his body being half-organic. Yet still, almost on instinct, he bared his teeth and growled when his enemy's face came into focus. But Mera remained unprovoked by the threatening gesture, and Jinmenken, noticing an oddly somber look in Mera's eyes, reluctantly stopped growling and muttered through gritted teeth:

"...What?"

Mera stared into Jinmenken's pupils. "Get up."

The canine blinked.

Mera sighed. "Didn't you hear me? You've gotta get up."

Jinmenken's eyes narrowed. "Weren't we just tryin' to kill each other or something?"

"...Maybe." Mera shrugged stood up, then extended his arm.

"You can't be serious." Jinmenken said flatly.

"Come on," Mera whined, clearly not in the mood for more debating.

Jinmenken mumbled something under his breath and reluctantly reached up, letting Mera grip his uninjured paw. He yelped when the lion Yo-kai jerked.

"Shit! Will you _relax_? I can barely move..."

"Sorry," Mera mumbled, deciding to bend down and help the canine sit up instead. After a few painful minutes of struggling to get Jinmenken in a standing position, he finally got him on two legs, albeit barely. Mera still supported him by the abdomen.

"So," Jinmenken started, his voice still shaky, "what's with the attitude change?"

"...You're welcome."

"I'm supposed to thank you?" Jinmenken raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you the one that did this to me in the first place? God, I feel like my insides are screaming at me."

Mera's expression was stern. "Look around."

Jinmenken did so, even though it hurt slightly just to turn his head. He did take note of the strangely quiet atmosphere, but wasn't quite sure why Mera seemed so worried about it.

"...So?"

" _So?_ Are you so utterly dead inside that you can't notice when the rest of the world is devoid of life?"

Jinmenken clicked his tongue. "Yeah, probably," he deadpanned.

Mera groaned. "Listen, I know this is sudden and all, but I took a look around and I think something really bad happened when we were fighting. That weird blast..."

" _Were_ fighting?" Jinmenken interrupted "You mean we're not _still_ fighting? Because if I wasn't in immense pain, I'd be down to keep going..."

"Well, that's not what's important right now!" Mera snapped. "We've got to make sure everything is alright! Here you go with the selfishness again..."

"Didn't we just get done establishing that _you're_ the self-righteous brat around here?"

"I am _not_ —" Mera paused mid-sentence and shook his head rapidly. "No. I'm not feeding into this." He took a deep breath and jerked his head towards the south.

"I think we should go back to the city and check up on everyone."

Jinmenken rolled his eyes. "In case I haven't said it enough, I can't move."

Mera was not in the mood for this. He began to let Jinmenken back down.

"Then you can stay here," the feline said.

"Hey, wait a m—!" Jinmenken gently hit the ground again, this time flat on his belly, compressing his already aching lungs. "Ow," he muttered.

Mera had already started stomping off towards town. Jinmenken lifted his head up to the best of his ability.

"I still think you're overreacting. Why should we drop everything we're doing for something we know nothing about?"

Mera stopped. He didn't even turn around before he spoke:

"Wasn't Otonabull running around by himself just now?"

"Yeah? And—" Jinmenken's rebuttal evaporated as he realized what Mera meant. Jinmenken was feeling guilty about his treatment of the little one, but he was so absorbed in his anger and thirst for vengeance that he had repressed those feelings. But now, if something happened to him...Jinmenken's stomach churned. Mera knew just how to get to him. _Clever little shit, he is..._

"So you're coming now, right?" Mera asked urgently, turning to face him.

"I never said—" Jinmenken began, but there was that look again, that determined stare of Mera's that shone with the light of a thousand suns, imploring—no, demanding—for one to listen to him. Jinmenken had ignored it many times before, but this time...

The human-faced dog sighed defeatedly. His knees buckled as he painfully forced himself onto all fours, practically dragging himself along the ground as he approached Mera.

"Fine. Let's get this over with," he grunted, looking up at Mera from on the ground, swaying a bit as he tried to stay upwards.

The lion raised an eyebrow.

"...What? You want me to get on my feet again after it took us ten years the last time?" Jinmenken pointed out.

Mera shrugged one shoulder, accepting this response, and kept on moving forward. Jinmenken soon trudged behind him.

This, the two would soon find out, was the beginning of a very long night.

Uptown Sakura wasn't very far from Oomori Yama, but Jinmenken's condition made the distance seem at least four times longer. Mera's soreness was already subsiding, but his rival's still was not, and he made sure to complain about it every five seconds. It slowed them down significantly, and Mera wasn't sure how he made it the whole way without running ahead and making Jinmenken eat his dust. Finally, the two made it to the north end of uptown, with the nearest Yoroz Mart and the Sakura community center within eyesight.

The scene in front of them was chilling. The streets were bare to the bone; not even a small creature roamed them, and just like on the mountaintop, the wind had stopped, leaving the duo surrounded in utter emptiness. Mera was petrified, immobilized by the creepiness of it all, but Jinmenken took an uneasy step forward and squinted. He lifted a paw off the ground pointed towards a lamppost in the distance.

"There's a person there, I think…" he noted. Mera followed his gesture and saw the distant figure of a human, seemingly leaning their back against the lamppost. Mera was relieved to see another living thing. He cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Hello?" he called out, to no avail. Jinmenken snorted.

"He can't hear you, dumbass," he spat.

"...Right. I knew that," Mera retaliated. "Let's just head over."

And so they plodded forward towards the lamppost. Once there, they stood in front of the person and took a good look at them. They appeared to be a young man, perhaps in his late teens, with scraggly black hair and a pointed chin. He was also wearing a dark black tee with a faded design, presumably some sort of emblem. His head was tilted up, looking towards the sky aimlessly, his eyes dull and inexpressive. It was then that Mera noticed something about this man. He looked strangely familiar.

"Wait…" Mera pondered, "isn't this the guy from that day?"

"What?" Jinmenken quizzed.

"A few weeks ago, when you bumped into that girl right around here...this is the guy that came and saved her, right?"

Jinmenken was wordless for a second. "...Hell if I remember."

"You don't remember?" Mera gibed, "No wonder you keep getting arrested, if you can't remember your own mistakes…"

"That's not what I meant! I mean I don't remember the guy!" Jinmenken snapped. "Look, this whole 'teaming up to solve the mystery' thing isn't gonna work if you take every available opportunity to shame me, so quit it, alright?"

"Fine, fine, sorry. I won't do it anymore."

"Promise?"

"Promise," Mera affirmed.

"Cross your heart."

"We don't have time for this, dang it!" Mera groaned. He turned back towards the human and noticed the purple aura surrounding him. Possession aura...yet, for some reason, the tint was much deeper than that of a normal possession. Mera frowned and waved his hand in front of the boy's face. He didn't budge.

"Do you just forget you're invisible sometimes?" Jinmenken said. He looked up at the human from the ground.

"Hey! Earth to kid!" he barked. No response. He growled frustratedly. And tugged on the person's pants leg with his teeth.

"Respond when your elders speak to you!" he grunted through his teeth. Finally, the human tilted his head downwards slowly, like an old machine starting up for the first time in years. His dead expression did not change, but it was a start. Jinmenken let go of his pants.

"Finally! Okay, so, what's going on in that head of yours?"

For a few alarming seconds, the human was silent, and the two feared he would stay unresponsive. At last, his lips parted ever so slightly.

"Nothing," the human whispered, his tenor voice sounding monotone. It gave Mera goosebumps, but Jinmenken was not fazed.

"Could you maybe say that again?" the canine requested, lifting up a floppy ear.

"Nothing," the human repeated, tone unchanging.

"Okay, say something else."

"Something else." Jinmenken narrowed his eyes and put on a comically perplexed frown. "Is this some sort of game to you? Do I look like I want to deal with this shit?"

The boy didn't so much as blink at him. He simply tilted his head to the side ever so slightly, looking away from his interrogator.

"You know what? Screw this," Jinmenken sighed and began to turn around. Mera reached out and grabbed him by the fluff of his neck.

"What?" Jinmenken grunted.

"Ask him to lay in the road."

Jinmenken raised both eyebrows. "Uh, did I hit you too hard in the head before or something?"

"I have a theory about what might be going on. Just do it," Mera instructed.

"You're serious about this?"  
"Yes!" Mera shouted.

Jinmenken muttered something under his breath about "kids these days" and did what he was told. Shockingly, the boy complied. He trudged over to the middle of the road and languidly lied down on his back, splaying his limbs out. Once he was on the ground, he remained still.

"...Okay." Jinmenken said flatly.

Mera clenched his fists at his side. "Just what I thought."

"And that is?"

"If this person had any sense of judgement, he wouldn't have done that, right? This...possession, I guess...is making him unable to make his own decisions. Or showcase any emotion at all besides apathy."

"And what made you arrive at that conclusion?"

"The way he responded to you...he did _literally_ whatever you told him."

"So like some sort of robot?"

"Exactly! Well, not exactly. I know multiple robots that would probably take offense to that."

"Yeah, whatever. So what you're saying is that this is some weird ass stuff."

"If you want to put it that way." Mera looked southward into the distance.

"I think we should start heading downtown. That's where the others should be…"

"You think this affected Yo-kai too?"

"Well, why wouldn't it?"

Jinmenken rolled his eyes. "I don't know. Maybe because _we're_ Yo-kai and we're standing here talking right now?"

"Good point…" Mera's heart lifted ever so slightly. Maybe there was hope that his friends and family were okay—and if Yo-kai were unaffected, it would be much easier to get to the bottom of things.

"We'd better go make sure, then," Mera declared, a hint of eagerness in his voice. Before even checking with his partner, he started off.

"Wait, we're walking all that way?" Jinmenken groaned.

"Suck it up, already!" Mera called, already a good couple of dozen feet away from him.

"Hey, slow it down!" Jinmenken began to limp after him, but abruptly turned back towards the boy, still on the ground.

"You can get up now. And by the way, I guess you're not listening, but...sorry. About that one time, I mean."

The human apparently only registered the first part, as he slowly sat himself up and almost mechanically rose and stood motionless in the middle of the road.

"...Okay. Yeah, see ya." Jinmenken muttered, then turned back around, screaming after Mera to wait for him.

The trek downtown was arduous and painful—literally for Jinmenken, figuratively for Mera. Along the way they noticed multiple people standing around motionless, similarly to the boy from before. Mera winced and had to look away each time. This was still so unnatural to him, and if it weren't for his concern over his loved ones, it might have been enough to scare him from going further. But Mera knew people were counting on him, and so he pressed onwards as he always had. He wasn't sure what Jinmenken was feeling, but every time he turned around to check on him, he was staring at the ground as he walked. Was he just as worried as Mera was? If he was, he surely wouldn't admit it.

After their uncomfortably silent walk, the two finally passed over a green crosswalk and noticed the central station standing tall in the distance. They were finally downtown. Usually, the area was much busier than uptown, but now it was just as empty. Not even a single car rolled down the street.

"So where to now?" Jinmenken asked, breaking the silence for the first time since they left the young man.

"My house, I suppose. Gula shouldn't have left." His expression suddenly became solemn. "...Unless he went out looking for me."

"Well, it's not like we know that for sure. And maybe if we're lucky…" There was a pause.

"What?" Mera urged.

"...Forget it. I don't _ever_ get lucky." Jinmenken shook his head and started onwards. Mera followed, perplexed—until he finally got it a few seconds later.

"Oh, I see. You're hoping Otonabull went home, right?"

"No comment," Jinmenken murmured.

A smile danced on Mera's lips. "I knew you were still thinking about it. I guess I did the right thing by reminding you. And here I thought you were completely uncari—"

"Ah!" Jinmenken interrupted, whipping his head around. "What did we agree on?"

Mera sighed. "I was gonna compliment him. Jerk," he muttered under his breath.

The duo continued noiselessly, passing by the station as they headed for Mera's house. Not far from the station was Mogmog Burger, downtown's most popular fast food joint. As they were passing the restaurant by, Jinmenken paused.

"What's the matter?" Mera asked.

"Shush," Jinmenken ordered, left ear raised. Mera did so and picked up the delicate sound of squeaking from somewhere nearby.

"What is that…?" Jinmenken whispered. Mera took a look around and gasped when his eyes fell on the Mogmog parking lot. A pudgy, white figure was waddling in circles around the lot. Two unmistakable blue eyebrows shone like guiding beacons of light, cluing Mera in instantly.

"Komasan!" Mera yelled, immediately dashing off towards Mogmog. Both of Jinmenken's ears flew up in shock.

" _What_?" The canine exclaimed with a mixture of surprise and dread. After what had happened the other day, he was not exactly looking forward to seeing the komainu again. However, he was rather curious about whether or not he had been affected by the strange occurrences, so he prayed things wouldn't be awkward and followed Mera.

Mera's heart sank when he caught the shrine guardian's eye. His pupils, normally wide and filled to the brim with curiosity, were contracted and his mouth was curved down in a perpetual frown. Mera stepped in front of him, but Komasan didn't even register his presence and walked straight into him before rebounding and finally stopping a couple of inches away from his face. He stared for a minute, then turned around to walk the other way, but Mera put both hands on his shoulders and turned him around again.

"Komasan! Come on, say something, please!"

Komasan cocked his head slightly. "Something, please."

Mera stomped his foot in anger. "Dang it! Not you, too!"

Jinmenken arrived at that moment and let out a breath that he didn't know he was holding. He wasn't sure whether to be relieved that he wouldn't need to talk to Komasan or feel defeated due to the fact that Yo-kai _had_ been affected after all.

"No, no, no…" Mera shook his head, still clutching to the komainu's shoulders. "This _can't_ be happening."

"Why do you think he was out here to begin with?" Jinmenken asked, eager to change the subject.

"I don't know…" Mera replied, looking deep into Komasan's eyes. "Komasan...do you remember…?"

Komasan simply blinked a couple of times, then continued to stand there doing nothing.

"Ugh!" Mera cried, so irritated that he pushed Komasan away without thinking. The white one stumbled a bit, but regained his balance and remained rooted in place, staring at Mera lifelessly. He didn't even turn around as the blazing Yo-kai headed back towards the road, his head down, fighting back tears.

"Let's go, poophead," Mera mumbled, "I don't wanna look at him anymore."

Jinmenken glowered at the lion, but followed after him anyway. "So is that it?"

"I mean, I guess we should still go to the house since we don't have any other plans. But Gula is probably…" Mera stopped. It would ache too much to say it out loud.

Jinmenken didn't respond. He felt like he should say something, but being comforting was definitely not his strong suit—especially when the person he was supposed to be comforting had tried to kill him on multiple occasions. He decided it wasn't worth the effort and turned his head to take one last look at Komasan, who had resumed pacing around the parking lot. He sighed sadly. It sort of reminded him of how he would occasionally roam around aimlessly as well during his depressive periods, moving towards nothing and away from nothing, his mind consumed by numbness and thoughts of worthlessness. He wondered if people looked at him the way he was looking at Komasan now.

He wondered if people would ever be able to care again.

As soon as Mera and Jinmenken had for sure left Mogmog behind, a shadowy mass emerged from a nearby tree. The figure of a certain ninja-like Yo-kai formed out of the blackness, eyes narrowed. They made a low whistle as the figures of their adversaries faded into the distance as they walked along.

"Boy, oh boy," Kaimu muttered in a tone sharper than the shuriken they carried, "the boss is gonna _love_ hearing about this."

It wasn't much longer until the feline and canine duo were standing on the sidewalk parallel to Mera's—and formerly Jinmenken's—home. Though the house itself hadn't changed at all in the last couple of hours, the dread clouding Mera's mind made it feel like a different place to him. He and his companion both took tentative steps forward, but Mera stopped suddenly as Jinmenken kept going. Jinmenken halted and turned around with a puzzled look when he noticed the other's footsteps could no longer be heard.

"Well? What's the hold-up now?"

"I...I can't do it."

"Say what?"

Mera balled his fists and bit down on his cheek. "I don't wanna risk having to look at my brother while he's a...a zombie. It wouldn't feel—"

"Oh _no_ you don't," Jinmenken butted in, sounding rather miffed, "we came all this way. I'm hurtin'. You can't tell me it was for nothing."

"It wasn't for nothing. I only just now changed my mind. Besides, we discovered something pretty important on the way, didn't we?"

Mera let out a sigh. "It's just...it would hurt too much to see Gula...like that." He gulped down tears, determined to not break down in front of his rival. "I'm sorry. There's gotta be another place we can go."

Jinmenken huffed frustratedly. "Well, you'd better start thinking, then, because I've got nothing."

Upon noticing that a sharp-tongued remark about his inconsiderate nature wasn't spat back at him, Jinmenken raised an eyebrow.

"You know, it sure is weird seeing _you_ be the pessimist..."

Mera was about to retort, but before he could, a throaty, very quiet voice came from behind him:

"Did somebody say 'pessimist'...?"

Mera whipped around and jumped back instinctively, Jinmenken shrinking a bit behind him. Before them floated a mosquito-like creature with a black and purple striped hoodie draped over it, covering most of its face except for its downtrodden-looking eyes and long, needle-like nose.

"Who are you?" Mera asked, slightly defensive.

"They call me Negativoon...not that it matters," the creature buzzed flatly.

"Negativoon..." Mera mused. "Oh, wait! I remember you! I was summoned to fight you off once, right?"

Negativoon gave what appeared to be a shrug. "Can't say I remember you. But most things that happen in my life elude my memory after a while...so no hard feelings. I guess."

"Okay. Uh, thanks," Mera replied with half a smile.

"Wait a second!" Jinmenken blurted out, coming out from behind Mera, "You're talking normally. Are you...not possessed?"

Negativoon nodded. "I suppose so. And in seeing the two of you here, I reached the same conclusion regarding you."

Mera's mouth hung open. "So...so some Yo-kai really _are_ free?"

"Seems that way," the insect Yo-kai replied. "Not that I'm sure what it is we're free from to begin with."

Jinmenken grimaced. "Well, great. That helps."

The mosquito's eyelids drooped a bit. "Well, my apologies for not being of much assistance to you. To be honest, I'm not sure what you were expecting from someone like me." He let out a sad chuckle. "In fact, I'm so worthless, I probably wouldn't have changed much at all had I been inflicted..."

"Don't say that about yourself," Mera said emphatically. Suddenly, the young lion's eyes lit up.

"Wait. This made me think of something." He gestured towards Jinmenken.

"This guy here is a lot like you, right? With the extreme negativity and stuff."

"I guess he forgot about what just went down two minutes ago," Jinmenken grumbled quietly.

Negativoon hummed. "I don't know him, but I'll take your word for it."

"Well, this might sound a bit crazy...maybe a _lot_ crazy," Mera explained, "but hear me out. What if you two weren't affected because you're already...well, dead inside, for lack of a better word."

The other two Yo-kai exchanged glances. Jinmenken opened his mouth first.

"That could be, but that doesn't really explain how you avoided it."

"Do you mean he is not part of our little 'dead inside' club?" Negativoon asked.

" _Heck_ no," Jinmenken answered. "I mean, not normally."

Mera rubbed his chin. "I guess you've got a point...well, it was worth a shot."

"Well," Negativoon offered, "even though I'm useless, I suppose that since we're in a similar boat, I'd be willing to hel—"

Suddenly, the insect's pupils shrank. Mera cocked his head.

"What's the matter?"

"U-uh...on second thought, I'll catch up with you later." Negativoon frantically turned around and flew away before Mera could even hold out a hand to stop him.

"What the...?"

A sudden shrill came out from next to Mera, and he jumped. The next thing he knew, Jinmenken was scuttling around to the other side of him, where Negativoon was before.

"What?!" Mera exclaimed. Jinmenken simply raised a shaky arm and pointed in front of him. Mera turned around slowly.

Before the two of them, standing only two yards or so away, menaced a scroll-shaped creature with piercing yellow eyes, shuriken drawn and back hunched, ready to strike. Mera gasped and instinctively put his fists up. The figure cackled eerily.

"At long last...we finally meet face to face. Too bad it had to be under these circumstances..."

"What does that mean?" Mera exasperated, voice cracking a bit. "Who are you?!"

"Wouldn't you like to know..." The figure began to inch closer, gliding along the floor.

Jinmenken tugged on Mera's red belt. "What are you doing?! Run, damn it!"

Mera paid the canine no mind and stood rooted to his spot, fists aflame. Jinmenken groaned loudly.

"Fine! Get yourself killed!" Jinmenken faced the other direction. "I'm ou—"

Jinmenken was silenced when he noticed the darkish avian, neck craned and wings spread threateningly, standing just a few feet away from him. He shrieked, almost knocking Mera over with the force with which he backed up into him. The lion tried to get a look at what Jinmenken was reacting to through his peripheral vision, but wouldn't dare face away from the ninja.

"Y- _you_!" Jinmenken sputtered. The avian clucked mockingly.

"Oh, so you remember me, hoo~! How nice to see you-hoo again…"

Jinmenken, teeth chattering, couldn't respond. Mera clenched his jaw and let out a low growl. The ninja simply laughed it off.

"Check it out. The lion cub thinks he can threaten us, Shini."

"Yes, Kaimu...it's adorable, hoo~" the bird jeered.

Mera refused to look intimidated. He tilted his head slightly towards his ally.

"Jinmenken, we've got to fight," he whispered sharply.

The poodle shook his head. "No way. No way in _hell_. The bird guy is strong enough to be ranked A, _minimum_."

"But we can't do nothing!"

"We're not gonna do nothing. We're gonna find an opening and make a break for it."

"What are you, a coward?!"

" _Yes._ "

"Are you two done yet?" Kaimu interrupted. "Yeesh, if I didn't know you guys, I'd think you were an old married couple. Oh, well…that's just made it easier for us."

Kaimu suddenly vanished, and Mera let out a yelp. He began to look about frantically

"Where—"

He was stopped by the sound of a crow-like caw from behind him. Shinigamidori leapt high into the air and hovered directly above Mera and Jinmenken. It then clapped its wings together, sending a crescent-shaped, cutter-like blast at the two of them, forcing them to dodge by diving in opposite directions. With the two now separated, Shinigamidori swooped towards Jinmenken.

Mera had only just picked himself up when he heard a yell. He quickly changed direction only to witness that Jinmenken had already been snatched by the bird's talons. The clawed toes were tightly gripping both of his arms, and he couldn't do much about it besides kick his legs helplessly. Mera reared his flaming fist and charged, aiming to strike the bird in its exposed stomach, but screeched to a stop when Kaimu materialized in front of him. Before he could so much as yell, a sudden pain emerged in his head and stars eclipsed his vision. Kaimu had delivered a swift, practiced chop to his forehead, sending Mera to the ground, and the back of his head hit concrete. The lion was knocked out instantly. Kaimu pulled out a conveniently-sized body bag and stuffed Mera inside.

"I'd kill him now, but I really think the boss should have the satisfaction," Kaimu said. "Don't you think so, Shini?"

Their companion nodded in agreement. "And doggy here might get to watch it live before we do it to him! How nice, hoo~"

Jinmenken gulped. "Yeah. Can't wait."

"Shut it, ugly," Kaimu sneered. They and Shinigamidori then started to dash away from Mera's house, both lion and dog in tow.

Between the lingering headache from his fight with Mera and the overwhelming fear, it took Jinmenken strength he wasn't even sure he had to not faint.

When Mera finally came to, he briefly thought he had died again and had been rebirthed as a fetus in the womb. He was in an awkward position, everything was dark, and he could hear muffled voices coming from the outside. It wasn't until he recognized the voice of that ninja-like Yo-kai that everything came back to him. The fight with Jinmenken. The turning point. Then another fight. He figured he must have been defeated by one of those shady Yo-kai, though he didn't remember how. It didn't matter now, however—he had to get out of whatever he was in. He had to figure out what was going on.

Meanwhile, Jinmenken was still being held in Shinigamidori's talons. He had been suspended for so long that he had lost feeling in his arms, but that barely even crossed his mind. His mind was racing with thoughts of fear and confusion as he stared at the two new figures in front of him—a black pegasus with eyes the color of a cloudless, midday sky and an ivory demon with arms crossed and a crazed look on his face. Their glares were so powerful that the canine just couldn't look away, and he wouldn't dare fidget. He opened his mouth to say something, but he was so paralyzed that his jaw was just hanging there agape. The demon and the pegasus cackled simultaneously.

"Boy," laughed the pegasus, "if we didn't have to keep this a secret, this face would _definitely_ be going on Snapchat."

The demon nodded. "I expected him to be pathetic, but this is just ridiculous."

The jeering was interrupted by the sound of something thrashing around inside the body bag, which was now on the floor to the far left of Jinmenken. Muffled growling could also be heard. The demon rolled his eyes so hard that they almost disappeared into his eye sockets.

"Release him, Kaimu."

The ninja, who was standing next to the body bag, saluted. They then picked up the bag, swiftly untied it, and turned it over, dumping Mera out onto the floor. He let out a grunt of surprise and pain as he hit the hard floor face first. He forced himself off the ground quickly, clutching his nose with his hand but still trying to menace the figures in front of him as effectively as possible.

"Who...who are you?" Mera hissed. "Where have you taken us?"

The demon sighed. "Should I bother?"

The pegasus snorted. "Go ahead. Humor them. It's unfortunate we don't have popcorn."

The demon smirked. "Then I shall start from the beginning. You can call me Yamimaro."

Yamimaro waved a hand towards the pegasus. "This is Uma. He's an ass."

Uma whinnied and flashed a toothy grin. "Quite literally, might I add."

"And," Yamimaro continued, "I suppose you're already familiar with Kaimu and Shinigamidori."

The two Yo-kai in question nodded curtly. Mera grit his teeth. Jinmenken shuddered.

"Together," Yamimaro explained, "the four of us had a mutual goal—to collect an incredibly large supply of negative energy hidden inside Yo-kai from as many different Yo-kai as possible. Yo-kai have an innate ability to sense and manipulate the emotional energy within every living thing—which I'm sure you knew, of course, since you're Yo-kai yourselves. However, only particularly clever and/or powerful ones can take advantage of this—as we did, using technology, intricate planning, and behind-the-scenes work over the course of a very long time. By causing someone to become angered or deeply saddened, we could extract a particularly powerful sort of negative energy. Yo-kai have even stronger emotional energy than humans, and said energy is strengthened when exposed to the energy of others—all emotions are stronger when influenced by others, after all. This is why we needed energy from multiple Yo-kai instead of just milking one target."

Mera opened his mouth, but Yamimaro held out a hand to silence him. "I know what your next question is. What did we need all that negative energy for? It's quite simple, really. Kaimu told me that you've already witnessed the effect of what unleashing all of our gathered energy into the world—it overwhelms the system of anything it hits, causing their minds to become so enveloped in negativity that their minds and emotions become totally numb. With everything that has a life force under our complete control, Sakura New Town is ours. They'll do anything we tell them to since they have no sense of their own. And with the help of our new army of humans, Yo-kai, and everything in between, we'll conquer the world!" Yamimaro guffawed maniacally, Uma soon joining in. Mera could feel the blood boiling in his veins.

"You're sick!" the lion spat, but the cackling of his adversaries did not cease, drowning out his voice.

"And this isn't even the good part!" Uma exclaimed, his laughter finally calming down.

"That's right," Yamimaro said, catching his breath. "You see, I ought to thank you two buffoons. If it weren't for your rather _explosive_ attitudes, we wouldn't have made it this far.

"You see, I had spent a long time researching Yo-kai with the strongest emotions—ones I _knew_ I had to extract energy from. As it turns out, the single Yo-kai with more passion flowing through his veins than any other…" Yamimaro pointed towards Mera— "is you, Meramelion.

"But I knew from the time I heard about you that I would have to save you for last, when we had extracted from almost every other Yo-kai in Sakura New Town. Because, much to my chagrin, you seem to have a history of not succumbing to negative possessions. Even natural emotional upsets are incredibly rare for you, as far as I could tell. But I _needed_ your energy. It would strengthen the effect of our plan by at least five times. What I needed, then, was another particularly powerful Yo-kai, but a different sort of powerful. A Yo-kai infamous for being notoriously downcast, totally unappealing, infuriatingly self-centered and not at all afraid to break the law to get what he wants...basically, your polar opposite."

Jinmenken's face went ashen, and Yamimaro noticed. The demon chuckled.

"That's right. You, dear Jinmenken, are what we've been calling our _catalyst_. Your purpose in all of this has been to aggravate Meramelion and push him beyond his emotional limits—so much so that he would finally produce that sweet, sweet negative energy."

"Wait a minute," Mera blurted, "what you're saying is...this was all set up. Him coming to live in my house. Us fighting. Everyone that was hurt in the process. Everything…" the lion clenched his fist. Every muscle in his body trembled.

"...it was all because of you."

"Dramatic, are we?" Uma sniggered. Yamimaro grinned.

"You're absolutely correct. We—or rather, good ol' Shini—forced Jinmenken to leave his home, then directed him with a gust of wind towards your brother, whom we did quite a bit of research about as well. And then, well, the rest unfolded by itself. We've been watching you this entire time, and ushered things along when we needed to—Shini attacked that street stand, for example—but for the most part, all we really did was set the scene. The rest? That was all you, boys. I must commend both of you for your annoying stubbornness."

Jinmenken was silent. There was nothing he could say—his brain was so discombobulated after all of the information he was just given that all that would come out would likely be incoherent babbling. But Mera did the talking for him.

"There's no way." the lion stammered, "All of those exact details...you couldn't have made them all work."

"Oh, but we did," Yamimaro replied confidently. "It took us months and a bit of external help, but we did."

Jinmenken raised an eyebrow. External help? For some reason, he could recall thinking that someone he was talking to recently was suspicious, but he couldn't remember who. He brushed the thought aside—perhaps he had taken a few too many blows to the head.

"So, now that we've finally got that out of the way…" Yamimaro started, this time in more of a threatening tone—like he was about to unleash news that Mera and Jinmenken definitely didn't want to hear.

"I'm assuming you have figured out by now that the two of you are, for some reason, immune to the effects of the energy wave. This certainly wasn't a part of the plan, and we would have loved to have you on our side...but alas, I suppose _something_ had to go wrong with our perfect setup. Oh, well. We'll make do…"

Yamimaro and Uma, who hadn't moved from the same spot since Mera and Jinmenken were brought in, began slowly hovering forward.

"It sure is a good thing Kaimu happened to notice you while they were making sure everything went smoothly," Uma said, "because we can't afford to have 'unaffecteds' running around. Oh, no."

Mera, knowing where this was going, instinctively backed up. Kaimu quickly sunk into the ground and popped back up behind Mera, putting their shuriken so close to his neck that he could feel the blade brush his fur. Uma and Yamimaro continued their approach; Yamimaro brandished his staff as it began to glow and a magenta-colored aura formed around Uma. Mera's heart drummed against his chest as he realized that he was experiencing the one emotion he hadn't yet felt that day—terror.

"Since Jinmenken has been such a good pawn for us," Yamimaro said, "he gets to watch us drain the life and soul out of his rival before we do it to him. Good times will be had by all!" Yamimaro's pitch rose on the last sentence.

Jinmenken broke out into a cold sweat. The rock in the pit of his stomach had grown so large, he thought it would crush his insides. He felt pathetic. He had been toyed with, horribly depressed, and beaten up multiple times over the course of the last few weeks of his life. Now he was going to die. Part of him wished it was him that was first to go—after all, the thought that he would've liked to see Mera die just a few short hours ago made him even sicker now that he knew what was really going on. As he watched Yamimaro thrust his staff into the air, ready to strike at any moment, the words were already hitched in his throat, ready to emerge at any moment—he would ask to be killed first. He would _beg_ to be killed first.

By some miracle, something did emerge from his mouth—but it wasn't a desperate plea. It was fire, a bowling ball-sized glob of bright red flame, and it miraculously found its way towards Kaimu.

The ninja Yo-kai yelped at the burning sensation, dropping their weapon and grip on Mera as they instinctively faded into the floor in an attempt to snuff out the flame—being thin and paper-like, fire was devastating for them. Mera was shocked, but didn't hesitate—he lifted the shuriken, which despite being the size of his whole head wasn't too difficult, and with a grunt of effort flung it towards Yamimaro and Uma, forcing them to fly backwards and out of the way.

Mera wasted no time in leaping towards Shinigamidori, who was staring wide-eyed at the scene in front of it. It just barely avoided a flaming fist to the face by propelling itself upwards. Unfortunately, it reacted too late to move fully out of the way, and instead the fist slammed straight into its groin. It squawked in pain and was not only sent back, but also lost its grip on Jinmenken, who dropped to the floor. The human-faced dog shakily stood up, with some difficulty due to the lack of feeling in his arms. He realized it didn't hurt as much as it did before to stand on his hind legs.

Mera and Jinmenken locked eyes. Mera hurriedly gestured towards the opposite wall to the north of them, and Jinmenken understood instantly. They both dashed for it, glad to be a good distance away from their attackers. They pressed themselves up against the wall.

"You can control fire, too?" Mera asked Jinmenken with slight wonderment.

"I honestly had no idea I could until just now," Jinmenken panted, still in utter disbelief that he had somehow just saved both of their lives.

"Well, it's a good thing tha—"

"YOU!" Yamimaro shouted angrily from the other side of the room, pointing his staff at the two of them. "Don't think you're going to get out of here alive, bastards! Everyone, _get them_!"

The duo stiffened. Perhaps their lives hadn't been saved just yet.

It was Shinigamidori who attacked first with a screech, charging forward and aiming to stab one of them with its beak. The two split, expecting Shinigamidori to hit the wall, but the avian quickly made a u-turn and swooped towards Jinmenken. The canine yelled and threw himself to the floor, narrowly avoiding impalement. Shinigamidori looped back around, and Mera wound up his fist and ran towards it. Suddenly, he felt something ram into his side, and he was thrown halfway across the room. It was Uma, who had tackled him in the air. Mera rolled off the ground as the horse pursued him again, leaving Shinigamidori to take care of Jinmenken.

The bird and the dog chased each other around in circles, Jinmenken desperately flinging himself around to avoid being attacked. Eventually, Shinigamidori decided it had had enough and blasted Jinmenken with wind at close range, sending the poodle hurtling backwards through the air. He slammed right into Mera, who was still tangling with Uma, and they both screamed as they collided with each other. Mera was knocked to the floor with Jinmenken on top of him. It was then that Kaimu popped out of the ground with only minor burns, shuriken back in hand. The three of them all dashed towards Mera and Jinmenken at once.

At that moment, something came over Jinmenken. His body shook with primal terror as he rolled himself off of Mera and got back up on all fours.

"I can't take this anymore!" Jinmenken cried, exposing his fangs. The corners of his mouth steamed with purple energy. He bolted forward towards his three attackers with speeds he had rarely ever reached in his life, his legs practically moving on their own.

" _Ossan...kami...maaaaax_!" Jinmenken bellowed; now he could feel the energy of his finishing blow attack coursing through him as he chomped down on Shinigamidori's neck. The bird squealed as it dropped out of the air, and its companions gawked at the newly formed, bleeding gash on its neck, shocked that Jinmenken actually did _damage_. And the canine didn't stop there; he began to dart around in a frenzy, tears flowing from his eyes, biting the air repeatedly as he chased the other two. He constantly switched targets from Kaimu to Uma. The two swiftly dodged his attacks, but he showed no signs of stopping, and was somehow only getting faster. Kaimu finally swung their shuriken at him, but Jinmenken, with timing that could only be attributed to luck, bit down on the projectile as though he were catching a frisbee and the metal bent. He then released his grip, and the weapon clattered to the floor. He then turned back towards Uma to pursue him, but the horse had flown high in the air to where Jinmenken couldn't reach him. The dog jumped around and nipped at the air, his body still in control of his brain. Kaimu bent down to pick up their weapon, now bent so much that it was rendered useless as a projectile until they could repair it; Shinigamidori was trying to quell the pain in its neck and get up off the floor. Yamimaro shook his head, not sure what he was watching as he secretly gathered energy into his staff.

And unbeknownst to all of them, Mera stood in a horse stance, ready to unleash his own attack, which he had charged while everyone else was distracted by the chaos. A bright red aura surrounded him as he gathered energy in his gusts

"Now it's my turn!" he shouted courageously. Everyone stopped in their tracks just as he shouted:

" _Seiken...burning!_ "

And the lion thrusted both of his fists forward. A wall of flame, at least three feet high, was sent forth towards both Kaimu and Shinigamidori. The two yelped as they were enveloped in the flame, which had narrowly missed Jinmenken, who was to their left below Uma. The jaws of everyone else in the room sans Mera fell to the floor.

When the flames eventually dissipated, both Kaimu and Shinigamidori were on the floor, conscious but unable to move from the pain. They were both covered in burns and Shinigamidori's bite injury felt even worse. Kaimu let out shaky breath.

"U-un...believable…" they sputtered. Shinigamidori coughed.

"This is bullshit. Someone's godmodding," Uma balked. Despite nobody else present even knowing what that last word meant, they seemed to at least understand the first part, as everyone immediately turned their heads towards Jinmenken. The poodle looked triumphant for a split second, but then his knees began to buckle under him and he collapsed onto his stomach.

"My _everything_...so...weak…" Jinmenken muttered, barely able to lift his head off the floor to speak. Now that the adrenaline had worn off once again, the exhaustion returned, this time worse than before.

"At least you admit it," Yamimaro sniggered. "If only your _own attack_ didn't put you out of commission, I'd almost be impressed!"

"He's not 'out of commission'!'" Mera blurted out, dashing over to the canine and lifting him up by his neck fur and showing him off like a trophy. "He's totally fine!"

"No, he's really not," Uma said matter-of-factly. Mera took a closer look at the canine's face himself. He looked as though he has aged an additional twenty years. The skin beneath his eyes sagged and he seemed to be struggling to keep his eyeballs from rolling back into his head.

"...Okay. So maybe he's been better." Mera abruptly dropped Jinmenken and puffed out his chest.

"It doesn't matter, though!" the lion bellowed, "You've seen what we can do, so tell us how to reverse this mess, or else!"

Yamimaro raised an eyebrow. "Or else?"

Mera narrowed his eyes. "Or else," he hissed.

Yamimaro and Uma glanced at each other briefly before bursting into laughter.

"You foolish child!" Yamimaro cackled, "You _really_ think I'm feeling threatened right now? It seems you haven't noticed…" the demon lifted his staff into the air. Purple lightning crackled around it and a humongous purple ball of energy almost immediately formulated at its tip. Mera's heart skipped a beat. How did he conjure up an attack of that size so quickly? A devilish grin spread across Yamimaro's face.

"Your silly games only distracted you while I was charging! Now…taste the wrath of the great Yamimaro!"

Yamimaro began the motion of pointing his staff to unleash the attack. Mera closed his eyes and put his arms in front of his face. Suddenly, Uma sneezed loudly, causing his master to flinch. This threw off his aim and the attack, instead of being sent straight down, was sent forward towards the wall.

"Gah!" Yamimaro gasped. Mera uncovered his face and Jinmenken lifted his head up slightly. Everyone in the room jumped when the orb collided with tha wall with a _crash_. A large cloud of dust formed as a gaping hole formed in the concrete wall. When the dust cleared, there was an entryway to rest of the waterworks. The stench of waste came pouring in, and Mera had to pinch his nose. _We're in the_ sewers _?!_ The lion thought. Meanwhile, Uma's face blanched.

"...Ah...sorry," the horse apologized, "it's rather dusty down he—"

Yamimaro threw his staff to the floor and began to throttle Uma, whose wings beat rapidly in an attempt to escape his boss's grasp.

"You imbecile!" Yamimaro roared, "You couldn't hold it for half a second?! I ought to bash your sorry skull in!"

"It's not really that easy!" Uma retorted, "When you have to sneeze, you have to sneeze!"

"Do I look like I care, you damn mule?!"

The two continued to banter. Mera found Yamimaro's need to argue a bit ironic considering how he criticized him and Jinmenken's issues before, but there was no time to think too deeply about that. Mera bent down and scooped up Jinmenken, hoisting him over his shoulder with a grunt.

"Wait, what's happening?" the canine murmured groggily.

"We're getting the heck out of here," Mera replied, not giving Jinmenken a chance to protest as he dashed for the hole. He nearly stumbled over it as he leapt through, not used to Jinmenken's weight. He landed on the other side with a _thud_ , but lifted himself up with his free arm and took off. He briefly considered asking Jinmenken about his diet, but decided to focus on running.

Back in the room, Yamimaro's voice got louder with each passing moment as he lectured his teammate about the importance of their mission. Every time Uma tried to open his mouth, he'd get cut off by Yamimaro. The horse kept eyeing the busted wall, not bothering to look back at Yamimaro.

"Why won't you look at me when I'm berating you?!" Yamimaro yelled. He took a gander around the room "What could possibly be so int—"

There was a pause. Yamimaro's pupils contracted when the realization dawned on him.

"Where are the prisoners?"

If Uma had long enough legs, he would've slapped a hoof to his forehead.

"They're gone, m'lord."

"They escaped?!"

"I've been trying to tell you for the last…" Uma feigned looking at a wristwatch— "...three minutes, I'd say."

"Damn it all!" Yamimaro exclaimed.

"Great job, hoo..." piped up the voice of Shinigamidori, still on the floor.

"You be quiet!" Yamimaro commanded. He released his grip on Uma, then swooped down to pick up his staff. He hovered back to his place and then pointed it towards the hole in the wall.

"We must pursue them! Now!"

Uma jerked his head towards Kaimu and Shinigamidori.

"And just leave them?"

"Do I look like I have time to carry a couple of deadbeats around?" Yamimaro asked flatly.

"No, m'lord." Uma sighed.

"Then let's go!" Yamimaro flew off without another word. Uma quickly flew over to his fallen teammates.

"Sorry, fellows," he muttered. "We'll be back."

"It's fine, don't worry about us…" Kaimu said as Uma flew away.

"Don't say that," Shinigamidori whispered, "I never liked that cousin of yours, hoo."

"'Twas unintended," Kaimu replied, "I don't really like him, either. He's a loser."

Confident that they had come a safe enough distance from the room, Mera stopped running and leaned his side up against the nearest wall. He had plodded through sewage water in the dark with a fourty-pound canine on his shoulder, and he was not happy. He normally enjoyed a challenge, but now was definitely not the time for things to be difficult.

"You have to move on your own now," Mera panted, slowly sliding Jinmenken onto the floor.

"Wait, what? I can't feel my legs."

"Okay, well, you have to try. I'll possess you if I have to."

"I guess you didn't learn anything from the _last_ couple of times, huh," Jinmenken deadpanned.

"...Well, what else do we do? You're slowing me down too much. Maybe I should leave you and go look for where they're keeping all that energy…"

"You can't leave me here!"

"Why not? They won't find you. I took as many diverging paths as possible to make sure we're hard to find."

"They'll find us eventually. They know this place much better than we do," Jinmenken reasoned.

"I guess so. But still…" Mera surveyed the area. Perhaps they could find somewhere to hide, at least. That was when he noticed the door a few feet away from them.

"There!" Mera pointed. "I don't know how I didn't notice that before. We'll have to hide in there."

"Worth a shot." Jinmenken agreed. Mera rushed over and Jinmenken followed by pathetically army-crawling across the floor.

The door seemed to be dark and color. On it was a small window that offered a look into a room that was dimly lit, but still brighter than the rest of the waterworks. Mera tugged on the doorknob, but the door wouldn't open.

"It's locked," he grumbled.

"Well, guess we're screwed," Jinmenken said.

"Wait…" Mera peered through the window and squinted. There seemed to be a machine, buttons glowing, on the side of the room, though some of it couldn't be seen as the window offered a limited view. He did notice the blaster-like peripheral attached to it, and underneath it were what appeared to be two bodies. They were slumped over against what Mera guessed was a wall adjacent to the machine, and that purple aura that Mera dreaded so much was surrounding them.

"There's Yo-kai in there, I think!" Mera exclaimed. "They're possessed, though…"

"If it's _that_ sort of possession," Jinmenken theorized, "then perhaps we can get them to let us in…"

Mera nodded and started banging on the door rapidly with both fists.

"Hello? Hello?!" He shouted.

"Not so loud!" Jinmenken hissed. "Are you _trying_ to get us killed?"

Mera ignored him and kept pounding away. Eventually, one of the Yo-kai raised its head. Mera noticed the pair of flaming eyebrows and chubby cheeks. He audibly gasped.

"Is that...Komajiro?"

"You've gotta be kidding me." Jinmenken was so surprised that he sprang up, emitting a sharp cry of pain as he did so. His legs shook underneath him, but he pressed up against the window next to Mera anyway.

"Oh, my God," he moaned, "Why can't Lady Karma leave me alone for once…"

"Komajiro!" Mera shouted, "I know you probably can't recognize us, but please, open the door!"

The butterscotch lion-dog obliged, standing up and plodding towards the door almost robotically. His movements were agonizingly slow, at least to Mera. The blazing Yo-kai finally heard a _click_ and Komajiro pulled open the door. Mera and Jinmenken practically tumbled inside, immediately shutting the door behind them. Jinmenken fell forward and didn't even bother to get back up, instead choosing to stay on all fours. Mera noticed the golden key in Komajiro's paw.

"Wait, the door was key-locked? And they just left the key in here?"

Jinmenken groaned. "You'd think a group who could almost perfectly pull off a convoluted world domination plan would think to not leave behind their damn key."

Mera took a good look at the room. The machine caught his eye first. It seemed to be smaller than he had imagined it to be—it took up about half the size of the room, but the room was already quite tiny, probably not much bigger than his living room. The machine had to have been built inside the room itself—there was no way one could fit it through the door. There were a variety of buttons and dials on it, but Mera was fixated on the giant, transparent metal container that made up the bulk of the structure—and more importantly, what was inside it.

"Hey," Jinmenken piped up from somewhere close to him, "I think we found the sandman." Though Mera didn't notice, Jinmenken was talking about the mystery Yo-kai in the room—a small, human-shaped figure seemingly made of sand. Grains of the stuff pooled underneath it. Jinmenken could've sworn he'd seen this Yo-kai before—he could recall them usually wearing a placid smile, which was now replaced with a neutral expression given their possessed state—but he couldn't for the life of him remember a name.

"And I think we found our energy source," Mera said with amazement.

"Wait, for real?" Jinmenken instantly turned his head. Sure enough, in front of him was a container full of the purple energy. The energy swirled around in the container, as though it was some sort of giant cloud, even though it wasn't actually made of matter.

"Just look at it all…" Mera marveled. He hopped up onto the console to get a closer look. He wiped sweat off his forehead.

"If we could figure out how this thing works, then maybe...we could reverse it."

"Uh, you do realize we're in plain sight right now, yeah?" Jinmenken said nervously. "If they pass by the door…"

"Then we'll just have to figure it out before they get here!" Mera exclaimed determinedly. Jinmenken didn't believe in the slightest that this would work and thought they should just get out of the damn sewer, but he said no more—he was too tired to argue. Mera closely observed what was in front of him. He wasn't especially skilled with machines, but he could at least deduct that the buttons on the console probably either opened the hatch in the container or controlled the blaster. He took a look at the blaster. It was angled upwards. It was then, he realized, that there was a hole in the ceiling that appeared to be an opening to the sewer pipes.

"So they shot the energy out into the open through the pipes…" Mera mused, "But there's something I'm not getting here. If they possessed people with all that energy, how is it still here in this container? Shouldn't it be used up?"

Jinmenken hummed. "Well, I'm no expert when it comes to these things, but I'm assuming emotional energy isn't really matter, like energy waves of any sort. The power is absorbed from the source, but the source itself isn't depleted. I guess it's like…reflecting light off of an angled mirror. The original light source still emanates light, but the mirror projects it off elsewhere."

Mera nodded. "Yeah, I kinda get it...how the heck did you come up with that?"

"I went to college," Jinmenken chuffed.

"Did you finish?"

"Well, I…" Jinmenken clicked his tongue. "...No."

"Didn't think so. Anyway, glad we figured that out, but…" Mera frustratedly pressed a hand against the container. "We still don't know how to reverse this."

Suddenly, a spot inside the container—one close to the opening that connected to the mechanical arm holding the blaster—began to glow. Mera was so lost in thought that he didn't notice, but Jinmenken certainly did, and his eyes widened.

"Uh...what?"

"Huh?" Mera snapped out of it and glanced at Jinmenken, who lifted a paw and pointed at the glowing spot. Mera gasped once he took notice and lifted his hand from the glass. The light began to fade away, and once it was gone, what was once purple energy in that small area, not more than half an inch in diameter, was now yellow.

"Woah!" Mera exclaimed, "It's yellow! And yellow means..."

"...positive," Jinmenken finished.

Mera couldn't believe it. It was too good to be true. He tentatively pressed his hand against the glass again, this time holding it there for a couple of extra seconds. The yellow energy extended its reach, covering another short distance.

"How on Earth is this possible?" Mera said, "This didn't work on the people and Yo-kai out there…"

"Could be easier to channel your energy through the container than through a body," Jinmenken suggested. "I mean, I'm just guessing, but…"

"Well, let's test one more time," said Mera. He hopped off the machine and skipped over to Komajiro, still standing aimlessly by the door. He pressed his palm against the other's chest and held it there. Komajiro's expression did not change.

"...So you were right," Mera admitted. "I guess the only way to stop possession is from the source, like with Yo-kai…"

"Well, aren't I on fire today," Jinmenken said. He winced a bit. "Literally, too. I'm so sore."

"Anyway, I know what I should do first," Mera announced. He dragged Komajiro to a spot underneath the blaster and got in his tiptoes to physically angle it downwards. He was fairly certain after the fact that there had to be a button to angle it, as it was a bit hard to move, but he didn't think to check for it.

"Okay...now how do I fire this thing?"

Jinmenken stretched his neck to eye the console for a few seconds before delivering an answer.

"Well, you could try the glowing red button that says 'fire'," he said flatly, pointing to it.

"I knew that," Mera lied. His finger hovered over the button.

"Well, here goes—"

"Wait a second!" Jinmenken interrupted. "Are you absolutely sure about this?"

"Do _you_ have any ideas?"

Jinmenken didn't respond.

"Exactly. In that case…" Mera pressed down on the button with a sense of gusto. Energy gathered at the blaster's tip—and luckily, it seemed to be bright in hue. It only took a few moments to charge since it was a small amount, then a small pulse of energy was shot out at Komajiro. Mera and Jinmenken watched with bated breath as yellow energy enveloped Komajiro. The purple aura dispelled and Komajiro blinked, the light returning to his eyes.

"Zura…?"

" _Yes_!" Mera exclaimed triumphantly, jumping up and down. "I did it!"

"Oh, so I did nothing," Jinmenken said.

"Pretty much!" Mera replied, still beaming. Jinmenken only shook his head.

"W-wait…" Komajiro squeaked, "Mera? Jinmenken? What's going on here, zura?!"

"Ah, sorry," Mera said, "you must be confused. But I'm glad you're back!"

"Back, zura? I…" Komajiro's memories suddenly came flooding back to him as he looked around the room. He was somewhere in the sewers. His boss—well, former boss—had used him as a test subject. And that strange feeling overcame him…

"How long was I possessed, zura?!" Komajiro gasped.

"Uh...we don't know," Mera replied, "we only just got here."

"What are you doing down here, anyway?" Jinmenken asked, avoiding making eye contact—he still felt awkward around the lion-dog. "Shouldn't you be out there with your brother?"

" _Nii-chan_...you saw him, zura?" Komajiro asked with a mixture of hopefulness and wistfulness.

"We did," Mera responded. "He's…" he couldn't bring himself to finish his sentence. Komajiro sighed.

"He's possessed, zura. Which means…they did it, zura. The plan…"

"You know about it?" Mera questioned.

Komajiro looked down at his feet. So they knew what plan he was talking about. he figured Yamimaro must have captured them and told them everything—he did like to gloat about his plans. "Yes. The truth is...well, I..." He shook his head.

"Forget that for now, zura. How are you two not possessed, zura?"

"We never quite figured it out," said Jinmenken, "but we figure it's got to do with us being too polar in one direction or the other."

Komajiro hummed. "That's interesting, zura...the only way I know of to protect oneself is by using some kind of protective spell—I'm pretty sure only Yamimaro and the others know it, zura."

"Actually…" Jinmenken gestured towards Mera.

"...Mr. Sunshine over here seems to be able to undo it." _And quickly, I hope,_ Jinmenken said silently. His head still felt like it had been crushed under a hydraulic press.

Mera nodded proudly. "It seems I can convert the negative energy in the tank to positive energy," he said. "Even though I was feeling down before...I guess there's always a part of me that never gets defeated," he added with a smile. Jinmenken wanted to make a remark about how cheesy that was, but bit his tongue.

" _M-mongee_ …" Komajiro awed, "That's miraculous, zura. If you can convert that entire container…"

"That's the plan!" said Mera. "But it might take a while. This thing is pretty huge, and the rate at which it changes is really slow."

"I see, zura," Komajiro nodded. "Anyway, I think I know what's going on, zura. But if I want to explain what we should to do you, I have to come clean…"

Komajiro sighed. The other two Yo-kai listened intently.

"I...I've been working for Yamimaro, zura."

" _What_?" Mera and Jinmenken balked in unison. The looks of shock and horror on their faces almost brought Komajiro to tears.

"I–I'm sorry, zura!" Komajiro sputtered. "It was a foolish decision on my part, zura! He used me...just like he used you two...and…" Komajiro stared at the floor again.

"Now look what happened, zura."

"Hey." Mera's soft voice made Komajiro look up. The lion put a hand on his shoulder.

"I didn't mean to come off as mad at you. All of us here have something to regret about this. I know we can't change the past, but helping everyone will make up for it, don't you think?"

Komajiro took in a deep breath. "You're right, zura...I'll do my best to help..." he clenched a fist.

"...For _nii-chan_ , zura! And for everyone, zura!"

"That's the spirit, buddy!" Mera flashed Komajiro a grin. "Now, what were you gonna say?"

"Well…" Komajiro quickly took out his phone. He tapped in a few different places, then frowned.

"Oh no."

"What now?" Jinmenken grumbled from behind him.

"Uma installed tracking apps onto everyone's phones so we could keep track of each other," said Komajiro, "and it looks like Yamimaro and Uma are headed this way, zura…wait, why aren't Kaimu and Shini with them, zura?"

"We beat them," Mera answered proudly. Komajiro's eyes widened. "That's _monge_ impressive...those two aren't pushovers, zura."

"Tell me about it," Jinmenken mumbled.

"Wait…" Komajiro raised an eyebrow. "It looks like...they're coming by the door, zura…"

Mera and Jinmenken held their breath, preparing for the two of them to burst in. Nothing happened.

"They passed it, zura?"

Mera and Jinmenken both breathed a sigh of relief.

"I don't know why they're suddenly so dumb," Jinmenken commented, "but boy, is it a good thing."

"They're not dumb, zura. Mean, cruel, perhaps a bit out of their minds, but not dumb...there's a reason for this, zura."

"Still, we should take advantage of this while we can," Mera suggested. "Should I start on that tank?"

"Not yet, zura. There's one more thing you should do, zura…"

Komajiro gestured over to the sandy Yo-kai near the wall, whom the other two had nearly forgotten about. Mera examined them closely. Was that...Sunao? He hadn't seen the friendly Yo-kai in quite a while. He hoped that whatever Yamimaro had done to him didn't ruin his affable demeanor—he hated seeing the guy without a smile.

"I don't know why he's here, but we should help, zura," Komajiro said.

Mera nodded. "There should be just enough positive energy left in there for me to bring him back. Let's do it!"

And with that, Mera repositioned the blaster (manually, again) and repeated the process on the sand being.

"Thanks a bunch~!" the Yo-kai chimed once he had been restored, "Though I don't quite know how all of you got here, I'm guessing it's not good…"

"Don't mention it, Sunao!" Mera replied happily. "And we can explain later—it's a long story. Komajiro, how much time do we have?"

Komajiro took a peek at his phone. "They're still headed back towards the main meeting room...what could they be doing, zura…?" Truthfully, Komajiro had a bit of an idea, but he didn't want to start a panic—besides, he himself wanted to believe his assumptions were wrong.

"Wait a minute," Jinmenken said suddenly, "Sunao, right? Why are _you_ here?"

"Ah…" Sunao frowned slightly, "I hate to break it to you, but Yamimaro recruited me before he started his big plan thing…" he rubbed the back of his head. "He told me what they were doing was for the greater good—that they were gonna do something responsible with that energy. I guess that's not really the case...I just didn't know how to say no to him. I hope you can forgive me."

"Of course, zura," Komajiro responded with an understanding smile, "the same thing kind of happened to me, too, zura." Secretly, although Komajiro wasn't aware that Sunao had been involved this entire time, he was certain what he did was much less terrible than what he had done—he wouldn't say that out loud, of course. He didn't want to ruin the positive attitude in the room.

"What did he have you do, anyway?" Mera inquired. Komajiro supposed he'd get his answer to his musing after all.

"Well…" Sunao started, "He only needed me for one thing at the very beginning, then he kept me down here for a long time."

"The nerve of him…" Mera growled.

"I—it's okay, really," Sunao comforted. Mera knew it absolutely wasn't okay—but this was Sunao he was talking to. The sandy Yo-kai continued.

"Anyway, what he had me do was—"

" _Monge_!" Komajiro cried suddenly, and everyone turned towards him. He was looking at his device again.

"What happened?" Mera said.

"They left the sewers through that Ungaikyo, zura…"

"Wait, why didn't we just leave through the Ungai—" Jinmenken butted in, but was quickly muffled by Mera's hand. The canine mumbled something else to himself through Mera's hand as Komajiro continued:

"Oh no, zura. This is bad, zura…"

"Is it really?" Sunao asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

Komajiro gulped. "I've known about this last resort for a long time, but I never thought they had to use it, zura…"

Jinmenken propped himself up on his knees and forcefully pushed Mera's arm away. "What? What is it?!" he urged.

"I don't know how to explain it, zura. You'll have to see for yourselves...but I do have a plan, zura."

The group nodded attentively. Komajiro elaborated:

"Mera, you're going to have to start converting the energy as soon as possible, zura. The connection down here is too bad to see where those guys are when they're not inside the sewer, so I don't know where they're standing, but they couldn't have gone far—they'll be back soon, zura. Once they pop back up on the radar, we—Jinmenken, Sunao, and I, that is—are gonna meet them before they can get to this room, zura. It's better to confront them as far away from the machine as possible so—"

"Wait." Jinmenken interrupted once again, "You're saying...we're gonna have to fight."

Komajiro nodded grimly. "I know you've probably been through a lot today, zura. But we don't have a choice, zura."

"N-no, really, I…" panic was bubbling up in Jinmenken's throat. "I can't do anymore. I'll die again. It even hurts just to sit like this, actually—"

"But you're doing it, right?" Mera chimed in, his preposition less of a question and more of a statement. He wasn't going to stand for a defeatist attitude—not here. Not now.

"Well, yeah, but—"

"No 'buts'. You have to listen to me. For once in your life, you have to listen to me." He was really serious now—the last time he had used this time of voice, Jinmenken recalled, was just before the two of them began brawling up on the mountain. Things were so different just a few hours ago.

"Jinmenken." Mera continued on, staring the poodle straight in the eyes, locking him in. "I know that back in the city, you told me not to debate with you. And I respected that. But there's something I've noticed this whole time…

"...You've been holding back. I can tell. Immediately after you realized it wasn't just about us anymore, you wanted to give up and leave, right? Let everyone else down again—like you always do."

Komajiro and Sunao exchanged glances. This did not sound like it was going to end well.

"Hey—" Jinmenken started, but Mera quickly shut him down.

"Let me finish. I know you didn't necessarily _want_ to bear another failure. But you didn't believe in yourself to overcome this, did you? You were so hesitant to even make an effort to look for Otonabull, even though you were clearly worried...because you had given up already."

Jinmenken's heart sank. Not because he felt attacked, but because he knew it was true—he had felt lost. Dissociated. Tired. He wondered why he was bothering. He wondered how he had gone from being so determined to defeat Mera to being so defeated himself. In retrospect, he wondered if his reasons for fighting Mera were even anything beyond petty; if those feelings were just exaggerated at the time. And Mera was right...he was going to give up on Otonabull. He had been in the back of his mind the entire time, as though the pup was calling out to him, but Jinmenken couldn't answer back. He didn't know what to say.

Mera kept speaking. "I'll admit it. When I first figured out that we had no leads...and that something definitely happened to my brother, I...I felt the same way. For a while. You saw that. But I was never going to give up searching. And now here we are—we know a lot more now than we did just a short while ago. It was a lot to take in—the fact that we've just been puppets, that is—and we still don't have _all_ the answers...but it feels like victory is that much closer, doesn't it?"

Jinmenken sighed. "Look, I know what you're trying to do. But it's not gonna change the fact that I _physically_ can't—"

"You keep talking about how much you're hurting, and yet...you fought back there with powers I've never seen you utilize, even when we were fighting. So that's not an excuse anymore. And it reminded me of the one thing that, over the last few weeks, I've figured out you've got going for you—you've got a fighting spirit in there. It's just buried really, really deep. And when it does come out, you've used it for some…" Mera's eyes narrows suddenly— "...bad things."

Jinmenken knew what he was referring to. All of his crimes—they had been fueled by ambition. Ambition to get what he wanted for himself. It never turned out well. And during the war, it had happened again.

"But," Mera said, "now...now you can use that spirit for good. To change everything. You just have to bring it out one more time…"

"It won't change _everything_ ," Jinmenken sputtered. "All the mistakes. All the fighting. The fact that the last few weeks of _both_ of our lives have been a giant lie. That won't change."

"You're right. But we _can_ change the future. Not just ours, but the future of everyone around us."

"And what if the future is just as bad as the past, huh?" Jinmenken's voice was frustrated, helpless. Words were just tumbling out of his mouth now, released from the darkest depths of his mind. "What if I _want_ to live in a world where nobody can feel? Then nobody can _judge_ —"

"Don't you _dare_ say that!" Mera roared. A stone-cold silence fell over the room. Mera inhaled deeply.

"...I...I know you don't really think that. You're a pretty awful person all things considered, but you're not that evil." A look of desperation crossed Mera's face.

"...Right?"

Jinmenken didn't think of himself as evil, despite being a lawbreaker. But thinking about what he just said...he kicked himself mentally. Damn it.

"I don't know. Am I?"

Mera suddenly got down on both knees to match Jinmenken's height. He gripped both of his shoulders tightly, so hard that he could crush the bones. Tears were in his eyes.

"That's up to you to decide. Right now. If you'll fight with us…"

He trailed off. He didn't have to finish—Jinmenken knew what he meant. And something inside of him finally cracked. _That's up for you to decide_. Maybe he couldn't change all the things he said and did in the past. To Otonabull, to the Koma brothers, to Mera and Gula. Maybe he couldn't change all of the terrible things that had happened to him, his pathetic life up to that point. But to believe that everything was a waste...that was just as naïve as being blithely optimistic, wasn't it? He was being just as stubborn as Mera had been all this time in his own way, hadn't he? Perhaps he really _could_ fight—he just didn't want to. But the idea of being able to make things better for himself, the fact that it was in his control...

"So, then...if I fight...I'll become respectable," he stated, more to assure himself than anyone else.

Mera gave a small smile. "Well, just don't forget that this is for the good of everyone else, too. But yeah, you're on the right track."

"Jinmenken!" Komajiro piped up, breaking the silence that Jinmenken hadn't even realized had fallen upon them. "Don't forget, I'm going to fight too, zura! I want to change too, zura!" The lion-dog placed his fist over his heart.

"This has been really hard for me, too...but I'm learning from it, zura! And having watched you and Mera this whole time, I really want to help you do the same, zura!"

Sunao stepped forward. "I'll do my best as well! Even if I can't make that big of a difference, every little bit helps~!"

Jinmenken was stunned. He'd never really been part of a team until now. It was an interesting feeling...but an enjoyable one.

Jinmenken sighed submissively. "Well...alright." He bundled his paws into fists.

"I'll do the best I can. And I won't give up—no matter how much I want to. Promise."

"That's what I like to hear!" Mera whooped. He felt an insane amount of satisfaction—after all these weeks of trying, he had finally motivated Jinmenken. He didn't know if it would last after the fight was won, but he didn't care. He did it, even when he was certain he never could. He beamed at the canine.

"I seriously can't believe I'm saying this, but...I'm counting on you. We all have to count on each other!"

Komajiro and Sunao cheered in unison. Even Jinmenken cracked a grin—but just then, a thought crossed his mind.

"You weren't gonna possess me before the fight, were you?"

Mera's smile faded. "Uh...did you want me to?"

"No," Jinmenken said indignantly. "I was just checking. Because, you know, I guess I need to be in control of myself to get the, uh…" he waved a paw in the air. "Moral benefits."

Mera nodded. "Looks like we're getting somewhere already."

Jinmenken chuckled melancholically. "This is a little too surreal, isn't it?"

"Yeah, kinda," Mera replied, then said slightly facetiously, "don't make me change my mind, 'k?"

Suddenly Komajiro's phone buzzed. He whipped it out from the top of his pack and gasped.

"Guys. They're here, zura."

The group all huddled around Komajiro (even Jinmenken stood up with a bit of effort—he found the pain was a bit more bearable now). Two red dots blinked on a simple, mostly colorless map of the waterworks. They seemed to change position slightly every couple of seconds.

"They're approaching pretty fast…" Sunao observed.

"Okay, team!" Komajiro exclaimed, "It's time to get to work, zura! Mera, you know what to do, zura!"

"Got it! Good luck, everyone!" Mera hopped back onto the machine and pressed his palm to the container as the others exited the room. The pep talk he had just successfully given was still fresh in his mind—it gave him more power. He figured this must be like what Todoki felt like after giving a speech. Todoki...their last conversation had made him feel so dejected, but he still loved him more than anything. He had so many things to love. His brothers. His friends. His world. He would not lose them. He felt the positivity flow through his veins. He could do this. He _would_ do this. He had dealt with so much in the last few weeks—if he could find a silver lining in all that, he could do anything.

Nothing could put out the blazing Yo-kai's flame.

Komajiro lead the others down the sewer pathways, looking down at his phone every few seconds to make sure he was going the right way. Jinmenken was keeping up at a reasonable pace; he could move briskly on all fours, even though the aching of his muscles nagged at his mind. He wouldn't stop now. He envisioned himself back at Alcatraz—that was the last time he had really, truly felt motivated. As horrible as his stay at Alcatraz ended up being, he enjoyed that initial feeling, that determination.

After a short while, the group could hear what sounded like...buzzing? Jinmenken and Sunao were confounded, but Komajiro knew what was coming. He didn't say a word. He pictured Komasan rooting him on, and his steps hastened.

The buzzing got louder and louder. The tension got higher and higher. The anticipation was too much.

And finally, in a wide corridor with water surrounding them on the left and right, the two groups met. Jinmenken, Komajiro, and Sunao stood directly across from Yamimaro and Uma, peering into each other's eyes.

And behind Yamimaro and Uma, like a giant twister, wings creating an ominous hum, hovered a whole horde of Negativoon.

* * *

 **Today's index:**

 **Negativoon = Negatibuzz**

 **Sunao = Sandmeh**

 **Well, that was the big one, guys. It took me a month and a half to put this one together, so I hope I answered most of the big questions. I'm saving a couple more secrets for the next (and likely final! Unless I split it up into two so the epilogue is separate, we'll see) chapter, though.**

 **No specific deadline for the next chapter, though I do hope to get it out in November. School is picking up a bit and eating up a lot of my time, but I'm pretty excited for the ending, so perhaps that'll motivate me to get it done. Or maybe Mera will possess me...**

 **See you all next time for the true final battle...!**


	8. Chapter 8: Tranquil Skies Again

**Here it is, the grand finale. I'll save the rest of my words for the end.**

* * *

Jinmenken almost gave in and ran. Almost.

The canine's eyes darted around, jumping from the confounded countenance of Sunao to the ashen face of Komajiro to the heinous duo before them—and finally, to the massive wall of mosquito-like Yo-kai, which Jinmenken could've _sworn_ there was only one of. But, apparently, there was dozens upon dozens—close to a hundred, perhaps. It was a wonder they even fit inside the room. Yamimaro cackled upon seeing the distress etched on the trio's faces.

"Hello there, boys!" he thundered above the chorus of beating wings. "I hope you didn't miss us too much!"

Uma snorted. "Maybe they did, otherwise they wouldn't have kept checking that tracking app. Which has a secret camera function, by the way, but it was only ever installed on my phone."

"Damn it, Uma!" Yamimaro huffed, "You were supposed to let me _gloat_ before telling them how we found them!"

"Look, I really just want to get this over with, if you don't mind. I haven't had a nap today and I'm cranky."

Meanwhile, Sunao turned to Komajiro.

"Do you know what's going on?" he asked worriedly. Komajiro nodded solemnly.

"They've had connections with this horde for a long time, waiting until they absolutely needed backup in combat, zura. But I ain't never thought they were gonna actually use them, zura…"

"Am I going to get to explain _anything_?" Yamimaro sighed. "Anyway, the bumpkin is right. You've proven to be a bit too annoying to take on with just a few of us, but now you stand absolutely no chance. So, I'm giving you a choice. Either you lead us back to the machine room and let us seize the lion, or…"

Komajiro's team jumped as a larger mosquito emerged from the crowd, looming slightly above the others. Its hoodie was yellow in hue and its wings appeared to be violet.

"...Madam Kayukayu here will be glad to order her minions to drain every morsel of life out your blood," Yamimaro finished with a devious grin.

Sunao, ever the positive force, spoke up first. "We won't give in!" he shouted, "No matter how impossible it may seem, we won't make it easy for you!"

Komajiro nodded, filled with resolve. If Sunao, despite being fairly weak, refused to be intimidated, then so would he. "You'll never take control of me or anyone else ever again, zura!" he cried.

Jinmenken didn't realize all eyes were on him until after a few seconds, as he had tuned everyone out while trying to stop his legs from giving way. _Don't fall. Don't run. Don't give up._

"Whatever they said!" Jinmenken barked. He mentally kicked himself afterwards for not saying something even slightly cooler.

"Very well! I must admit I'm impressed with you all," Yamimaro said, "but alas the underdogs can't _always_ pull through. Madam?" He gestured to the large mosquito, Kayukayu. She nodded affirmatively and thrusted a jagged finger towards her targets.

"Get them!" Kayukayu ordered. The volume of the buzzing went up enormously as the horde erupted from a standstill. Yamimaro and Uma laughed as the Negativoon began to form clusters, some groups staying close to Kayukayu while others were geared to go straight in for the kill. Jinmenken, Komajiro and Sunao braced themselves, backing up into each other. The battle was on.

Almost immediately the team was dive bombed by a small group of insects, forcing them to split apart. Each individual suddenly found themselves surrounded on all sides by five or so Negativoon each, nowhere near each other. Others swarmed directly overhead, so jumping out wasn't an option. The bugs began poking with their surprisingly sharp noses, causing an almost immobilizing pain in their victims.

Komajiro noticed quickly that the Negativoon on their own were weak. It didn't take much more than a few attacks to bring one to the ground—especially with the help of his lightning powers, which did a number on the wings—but for each defeated Negativoon, another almost instantly took its place as though the creatures were operated by some sort of machine. Komajiro wondered how long it would take to get rid of all of them—if they could get rid of all of them. The lion-dog wondered how his comrades were faring. As he zapped another Negativoon, he peered over his shoulder and could faintly make out Sunao's beige figure among the streaks of purple and black.

"How are you holding up, zura?" Komajiro called in Sunao's general direction.

"I'm...I'm okay!" Sunao answered back, grunting as he headbutted a Negativoon that had latched onto him with its proboscis. Komajiro frowned—of course Sunao would say he was fine, but he wasn't a fighter, and the Negativoon must have taken notice, as they seemed to be preying on him more than they were on Komajiro. Komajiro tried to elbow his way through the Negativoon surrounding him, hoping that he could help fight off the ones around Sunao and perhaps give him some time to heal himself.

Meanwhile, a howl of frustration and pain rang out some short distance away. Jinmenken kept trying to chomp down on the Negativoon, but kept getting pushed away by their needles, and one had finally stabbed him in the tongue. It just a prick, but that didn't make it hurt any less, and he could feel his tongue swelling slightly. He pawed at his attackers haplessly, begging his canine instincts to surface again, but they refused to take over. He suddenly heard a faint chuckle from behind him.

"I'm _awfully_ sorry about all this trouble…" a familiar voice drawled. Jinmenken gasped as he turned to face the source. It was unmistakably the Negativoon from in front of Mera's house, just before the two had been attacked.

"You…" Jinmenken growled as he donkey-kicked a mosquito behind him, "You were with _them_ …!"

"Not exactly. I was patrolling, but it was under Madam Kayukayu's command—the balding nutjob had no idea she had taken matters into her own hands. I would have taken you to her myself, but those other two found you first, and I didn't want them to know my mistress had tried to help without receiving orders. Control freaks, they are…"

Jinmenken leapt for the Negativoon, but he dodged swiftly, and Jinmenken landed rather unsteadily on his paws. Negativoon exhaled.

"You know, I don't _really_ feel like doing this—"

But Jinmenken would have none of it. He bit the insect's tail end and flung him straight into another Negativoon, knocking them both back.

"Cut the bullshit," the canine muttered, but apparently it was just loud enough for those surrounding him to hear. Immediately five more insects swarmed around him, buzzing angrily, eyes crossed. Jinmenken blanched.

" _Chikush_ —!" The insects were suddenly upon him, and back to fighting it was. Komajiro and Sunao, now working as a team, overheard Jinmenken's interrupted cry.

"That didn't sound good, zura…" Komajiro murmured as he sent a jolt of electricity at a Negativoon. It didn't knock it out instantly like his powers had done to the others, and it was then Komajiro realized he was growing weaker. They hadn't been fighting for that long—perhaps the Negativoon had drained energy out of him without him knowing.

"Should we help?" Sunao asked, punching a Negativoon. He too was losing some of his strength despite having healed himself a little bit.

"He's too far away, zura. And there's too many here…" Komajiro grinded his teeth in frustration.

"And they never seem to stop coming, zura! But how…?"

Sunao hummed. "Maybe she has something to do with it?"

Sunao pointed to Kayukayu, who appeared to be giving frantic orders. Komajiro noticed that the Negativoon surrounding her hovered in place until they were commanded. A lightbulb went off in his head.

"I almost forgot about her, zura. Maybe if we defeat her…"

"...we can incapacitate the whole horde!" Sunao finished with a smile. "Great idea."

Komajiro was about to say something about how it wasn't really _his_ idea, but decided it was better to stay focused.

"Okay, so...how exactly do we do this, zura?" Komajiro pondered as he whacked at another bug, then looked over his shoulder at his partner. Sunao shrugged as he absentmindedly took a small chunk out of his sandy body and chucked it at one of the Negativoon. Komajiro gasped.

"That's it, zura!" Komajiro exclaimed.

"What's it?" Sunao questioned with a tilt of the head, very nearly getting blindsided by an attacker, but dodging at the last moment.

"What you just did, zura!"

"Hmm? Oh...oh!" Suano's eyes lit up.

"Yeah, I think I know what you're getting at! Could you cover me for a little bit?"

Sunao suddenly headbutted through the Negativoon in front of him and made a break for the center of the room. Komajiro flanked him, panting as he fought off every mosquito that got in their way. Sunao had managed to pull ahead of him as the Negativoon began to target him instead.

"I'm ready!" Sunao called. A yellowish brown aura surrounded him as he flung his arms up in the air.

" _Sunaona Suna_!" Sunao cried. A bunch of sand whirled around his feet, then rose up into a funnel-like shape around him. He flicked his arms outwards and dispersed the grains. A large number of Negativoon cried out as sand suddenly ended up in their eyes. Chaos broke out as the insects, blinded and in pain, began bumping into and attacking one another, unable to tell ally from enemy as long as they could not see. Even those that could see became angered and shifted their focus away from their targets to poke at the other Negativoon. Soon enough, it was an all-out civil war, Negativoon stabbing at each other as though they were fencing.

Jinmenken felt completely dumbfounded as his attackers slowly gravitated away from him and began attacking each other. He hadn't quite heard Sunao announce his ultimate attack, as his sensitive ears were ringing from all the buzzing. He could barely hear his own thoughts among the panic. He did, however, make out a shrill, infuriated cry from a distance away. He whipped his head around to notice Kayukayu furiously trying to get her army back into order, but to no avail—nobody could pay attention to her.

"Now's our chance, zura!" Komajiro bellowed, pointing to Kayukayu. Jinmenken wasn't sure where he had come from, but he could at least gather from the gesture that he wanted to launch an attack on the mosquitos' leader. Jinmenken dashed for her while she was distracted. He certainly didn't have enough energy remaining for another _Ossan-kami Max_ , but he would strike her with everything he had left anyway.

Jinmenken darted and ducked through the Negativoon in his way, almost smacking face first into one, before finally making it to Kayukayu. A look of shock registered on the large insect's face for a brief moment as she spotted the brown mass hurtling at her from the side, but it was too late. The canine sprung up and firmly planted his teeth into her abdomen, eliciting a shriek of pain from her as she fell to the ground. Jinmenken winced from the shrill, but clung on as though his life depended on it (it did, in a sense). He looked over and saw Komajiro already running towards them, not wasting any time. Just as some of the Negativoon realized what was going on, Komajiro leapt into the air and harnessed all of his energy.

"This is for _nii-chan_ , zura!" Dark clouds pooled over the butterscotch komainu's enemy.

" _Furai Thunder_!" Komajiro shouted, thrusting his arms forward. Jinmenken would have screamed had he not been gripping on to Kayukayu, but it was too late anyway. Wild jolts of electricity were sent through both of their bodies, sending them both crashing to the floor, unconscious.

As the sounds of thunder faded and the clouds fizzled out, a silence flooded the room as the Negativoon abruptly ceased their fighting. They stared at their unconscious leader with horror for a few seconds. They then immediately mobilized, prioritizing their leader's safety over the battle at hand, and flew frantically towards her. They huffed and puffed as they worked together to lift her up—ignoring the limp canine at her side, of course—and retreated down the corridor, accepting their loss. As the ever-aggravating buzzing grew quieter and quieter, leaving only a soft echo behind, Komajiro and Sunao stood side-by-side, panting heavily.

"We...we did it…" Sunao breathed, beaming. Komajiro's jaw dropped to the floor, but his lips were upturned in a smile.

"I can't believe it, zura...we did it! We really, really did it, zura!"

Komajiro leaned over to hug Sunao, the docile Yo-kai happily returning the victorious embrace, and the two cheered.

"Hey, Jinmenken!" Komajiro called as he released Sunao, "I told you we could—"

He stopped when he noticed that Jinmenken was, at the moment, merely a sizzling heap on the floor. He bit his lip.

"...Oops."

Sunao let out a nervous chuckle. "Um...it's alright, I guess. I can't revive him right now, but I can take care of some of his injuries."

Komajiro breathed a relieved sigh. "That'd help. Thanks, zura."

As Sunao bent down over Jinmenken and began to use his healing powers, Komajiro turned towards the direction they had came from.

"Mera must almost be done by now, zura. We should go and check on…"

Komajiro trailed off as a sudden realization shocked him harder than his electricity had shocked his enemies. Sunao lifted his head up and knitted his eyebrows.

"Is something the matter?"

Komajiro whipped his head around the room as his heart began to beat against his chest and his throat grew dry.

"...Where are Yamimaro and Uma?" Komajiro uttered. Sunao let out a slight gasp as he too realized they were nowhere to be seen.

"They...they couldn't have...?"

The both of them knew, of course, that they absolutely _could_ have in the midst of all the madness—and they knew where Mera was. Komajiro and Sunao gulped.

This was bad.

Mera had heard the faint echo of thunder and lightning from somewhere else in the sewer, but he barely registered it. He had forced himself into a sort of trance. Time was nonexistent, space was occupied by only him and the energy tank, and his only emotion was determination, pure and raw. He could physically feel the energy within him transferring to the tank. He pictured it spreading throughout the whole city, the whole country, the whole world. He took a glance at the tank—it was almost full. Perhaps another minute would do. Any hints of worry were quickly burnt to a crisp by his blazing spirit. This was it. He had won.

He felt something slam into his side, pulling him back into reality. He suddenly found himself not standing on the machine but on the floor, stomach facing up. He propped himself up with a grunt and found Yamimaro and Uma looming over him—the only obstacles in the way of victory.

"Nice try, little boy," Yamimaro sneered, "but I'm afraid we're going to have to snuff out that fire of yours. No child will ever thwart _our_ plan!"

Uma nodded. "And with your little band of idiots distracted, nobody will be here to save you. You're all alone!"

Mera arose steadily, his face steeled like that of a warrior. "I'm never alone. I can feel everyone's spirits."

Uma flapped a hoof. "Yeah, yeah, power of friendship, et cetera. I hate that trope." He turned eagerly towards his boss.

"Can we just obliterate him already?"

"I never thought I'd be happy to hear anything out of your mouth, pony." Yamimaro held his staff out in front of him, pointing it at Mera.

"En garde, Meramelion. Prepare to face our true wra—"

Mera thrust his fist forward, interrupting his foe with a small blast of fire. Yamimaro instinctively dispelled it with his own blast of dark magic.

"Have you no honor, boy?" he scoffed.

"Not for you," Mera scowled, burning holes into Yamimaro's skull with his glare. He felt a burning feeling at the pit of his stomach—a familiar feeling that not so long ago had been directed towards another.

"Very well, then. If that's how you want to play…"

Yamimaro made a sweeping motion with his hand and Uma rushed forward. Mera put his arms up in front of his face and blocked the tackle. The impact stung, but he wasted no time in throwing a punch straight to the equestrian's jaw, which he swiftly dodged. He then chomped down on Mera's arm before he could pull it back. Mera bit back a cry of pain, wildly shaking his arm. When the horse's grip would not let up, he took his free hand and hammer-fisted his enemy on the head, causing him to let up a bit. He then flung him off of him with a yell, but Uma caught himself in midair.

As Mera ran towards his flying target, Yamimaro jumped in front of his underling and whacked at Mera with his staff. Mera barely ducked underneath it.

"At long last…" Yamimaro said as he swung again, "I can finally show you my power!" Mera started to move backwards as he narrowly avoided each swing while looking for an opening. Yamimaro had almost backed him into the wall when he finally found an opportunity—the demon had hesitated for just a brief second, but it was enough for Mera to react accordingly, sidestepping to the right and whipping around with a roundhouse kick. Yamimaro almost casually blocked with his staff, sending pain coursing through Mera's leg. He fell backwards but forced himself to stand back up again; unfortunately for him, he was immediately greeted with a staff to the nose. The surprisingly powerful force sent him flying back, and soon he found himself pinned against the side wall. Stunned from the impact, he was stuck helpless as Uma suddenly began draining his energy with his spirit technique. Mera felt his muscles tingling as their power was slowly sapped away and he slumped to the floor. Yamimaro hovered in front of him, preparing his energy ball once again.

"Tired, are we?" Yamimaro snickered. "I told you there was no way you'd make it out of here alive."

"After all," Uma followed up, "you're no hero. Just a small, irritating little kid that thinks everything can go his way…" the pegasus shivered with glee. "Ooh, saying villain stuff makes me so giddy!"

Mera clenched his teeth so hard he could have broken his own lower jaw. He was only getting weaker, and soon he would be finished off. The entire world was depending on him, and he had let victory escape him. He shook with anger—somewhat at Yamimaro, but mostly at himself. How could he fail? How could he, when everyone was counting on him? He silently apologizes to those that had been dragged into this mess. Asekakki. Nobosetonman. Atsugaruru. Komasan. Komajiro. Gulagulion. He even felt just a little sorry for that darned Jinmenken, even after everything he had put him through. And yet for some reason, Mera's biggest regret of all was the fact that the last impression his oldest brother had of him was that he was a big baby.

As he thought of Todorokijishi, he briefly remembered something he had said to him a long time ago. It was back when he had only recently become a Yo-kai, when he was still confused and scared about the afterlife:

 _Even if you're feeling lost, never lose sight, little man. That spark of yours...it'll take you places. I'm sure of it._

And those words were part of how Mera had discovered his purpose as a Yo-kai—to ignite the spark in the hearts of others. A tear rolled down his cheek. It was ridiculous to think that Todoki would ever stop believing in him no matter how many mistakes he made. Because he would always have his spark. A flame that would be reignited no matter how many times it went out. Todoki knew it. And so did he.

Now that Mera had cleared the doubts out of his head, he had a sudden realization. His Yo-kai power. His spark. That's what would pull him through this. He hadn't lost yet.

"Cat got your tongue, lion?" Yamimaro taunted. Mera let out a snort. He had no idea what was coming.

"I was just thinking…" Mera growled, a yellow aura forming around him. He slowly tilted his head up to look at his attackers, his eyes bright with newfound hope and his lips turned upward in a grin. The yellow aura was sent straight upward.

"...about how hard I'm going to _smash your face in_."

The possession aura came back down and landed not on one of the opposing Yo-kai, but on Mera himself. He felt the blood surge through his veins as his vision became dyed bright yellow and his belly burned with a different sort of feeling. Mera fought against Uma's absorption attack, standing up as the strength returned to his muscles. Uma and Yamimaro exchanged brief glances of confusion.

Self-possession was almost always frowned upon in Yo-kai society—it was said that it was too dangerous to amplify the effect of a Yo-kai's own power. But this time, it was necessary.

Mera drew in a deep breath and folded his arms. There was a brief moment of silence. Then, with everything he had, he jumped into a horse stance and roared with the might of a thousand beasts, loud enough to echo across the entire waterworks. It was so strong that even Yamimaro and Uma were caught completely off guard and flew back, the energy gathered in Yamimaro's staff fizzling out. The lion was surrounded with a bright flame now; his mane swayed as though he were surrounded by wind, and his eyes were wild with fury. With another cry, he charged, his mind devoid of any thought besides _victory_.

Yamimaro and Uma dodged the first punch, flying in opposite directions. But this stronger Mera was faster, too, and he turned on a dime to leap for Uma. The pegasus tried to counter him head-on, but this was a mistake—Mera's flaming uppercut met his face with such force that Uma was overpowered and sent slamming into the ceiling with a shocked whinny. He fell to the floor like a rock, revealing the dent his body had made in the ceiling.

Yamimaro's jaw dropped, but he refused to be deterred. He sent a bolt of darkness at Mera, who combated it with his own stream of fire. Soon the two of them were exchanging elemental blows, each one stronger than the last, each hoping to pierce through his enemy's attacks eventually.

Yamimaro's breaths became heavier over time. Beads of sweat formed above his brows as he fleetingly considered the possibility of losing. Mera, meanwhile, wasn't tired in the slightest. As Yamimaro's attacks grew weaker, his only grew stronger.

Yamimaro knotted his eyebrows. "You…" he panted, "you won't...get away with this…!"

Mera said nothing. Actions spoke louder than words, after all, and he was about to prove it. He became engulfed in light red flame so hot the air around him sizzled. Yamimaro went ashen, but continued to pelt him with dark magic anyway. It barely even touched Mera.

The blazing Yo-kai reared back his fist. Even more flames formed around him, obscuring his body so his enemy could only see his flickering eyes. Yamimaro was frozen solid.

" _Kakusei…"_ Mera bellowed, his voice reverberating throughout the room, " _...Saiken Burning!_ "

With a thrust of his fist, large plumes of fire were sent spiraling towards his adversary. Yamimaro tried to lean away, but it was too late. The flames were already upon him, and he howled in agony, not entirely because of the pain—he'd felt worse—but because he knew instantly that it was over.

As Yamimaro fell to the floor a burning heap, Mera leapt back on top of the machine console. He slammed his palms against the tank, almost breaking the glass, and yelled as he transferred every last drop of his energy into the tank. As soon as the last dot of purple was replaced by yellow, his self-possession wore off, leaving him faint and dizzy, but he jumped to action regardless. He angled the blaster one last time, this time towards the hole in the ceiling. His heart swelled and his spirit soared.

"You were right, Todoki," Mera whispered to himself. He then stomped down on the _fire_ button. Instead of only tapping it like he had when using the blaster on Komajiro and Sunao, he kept his foot pressed down on it. The contents of the tank emptied as positive energy streamed out. An orb of energy formed in the sky above, growing bigger as it filled.

After the entire tank had emptied out, the orb pulsated. After a few seconds of swelling, the orb imploded. There was a flash as the energy spread at supersonic speed, the waves knocking Mera off his feet like they had before—only this time, instead of purple, the world was dyed yellow.

Komajiro and Sunao, with Jinmenken being dragged along by the latter, had just made it to the entrance of the room with the machine when they were swept by the energy wave. They blinked rapidly when they came to. That flash of yellow was exactly like the one that had overcome them when Mera blasted them before, only this time it was much stronger.

"Could it be, zura…?" Komajiro gasped.

Sunao beamed widely. "Looks like we had nothing to worry about after all!"

And as if on cue, the door burst open. Mera stood in the doorway, one hand on his hip and the other arm still out to the side after having used it to push the door open. The lion looked a bit marked up and he was panting heavily, but his smile was bright as ever

"I told you," Mera affirmed, "that we wouldn't lose."

Komajiro and Sunao almost instantly jumped for joy. Sunao laughed joyously as Komajiro dashed over to Mera and took both of his hands in his paws.

"Mera, thank you, zura. I owe you so much, zura…"

Mera grinned and put a hand on the lion-dog's head. "Don't mention it. After all, _I_ couldn't have done it without _you_."

The three of them heard a groan from behind them. Jinmenken shook as he lifted his upper body.

"W...where am I? Did I drink too much…?" the canine muttered, head spinning.

Mera couldn't help but burst into laughter, Komajiro and Sunao quickly following suit. Jinmenken, now in a sitting position, was not amused.

"That's not really helping…" he growled. As his vision began to grow clearer, however, he could more clearly make out the figures of Mera, Komajiro, and Sunao—and everything came flooding back to him.

"The bad guys!" Jinmenken gasped, whipping his head around. "Where did they go? What happened?!"

Mera exhaled, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. "Don't tell me you slept through the whole thing, dude."

Jinmenken frowned. "What whole thing?" His eyes suddenly widened.

"Wait, you don't mean…"

Sunao extended a hand to the canine. "It's over. We won."

Jinmenken sat motionless. The last thing he remembered was fighting mosquitos, and suddenly, it was over. He eventually lifted his paw and let Sunao help him up, though he still wore a completely dumbfounded expression.

"I don't...I can't believe it," he expressed with a hint of relief as he regained his balance.

Mera and Komajiro approached him. His orange-furred former nemesis smiled.

"Well, you'd better start believing, poophead."

Jinmenken smiled back awkwardly. "Yeah. Guess I'd better."

"Well, what are we waiting for, zura?" Komajiro piped up. "Let's get out of here, zura."

The others nodded in agreement. With a slight chuckle, Jinmenken added, "Good idea. I'm tired of smelling shit."

Mera rolled his eyes. " _You_ kinda smell like that all the time. Just saying."

Jinmenken shot him a look. "Watch yourself, hairball."

"Please don't start anything, zura…" Komajiro sighed.

"Don't worry," Mera replied in a facetious tone, " _I_ won't start anything."

Jinmenken shook his head and muttered something under his breath as Komajiro and Sunao laughed. The four of them started to head towards the nearest pipe that would bring them aboveground.

After all, they all had people waiting for them.

By the time the group had emerged near the lake in the uptown district, the clouds had parted and the sun was shining brightly, its blazing embers temporarily blinding them. The four marched up the sloped hill leading towards the town. They stood at the top for a minute, watching cars whizz by and people live their lives. It was rather amazing how quickly everyone had recovered from the mass possession—like someone had taken a glob of colorful paint and splashed it on a blank canvas. Of course, they weren't complaining.

From there they decided their next stop would be Mera's house. They planned to split up at that point. As they traveled from uptown to downtown, Komajiro and Mera tried to fill in Sunao on what details he had missed regarding Yamimaro's plan. The sewer gang hadn't explained very much to him.

"So that'swhy they kept Mera and Jinmenken together…" Sunao mused. "I honestly didn't know they wanted you to fight. All they told me was the basic stuff about their mission—lies, I'm assuming—and that they wanted me to possess Gulagulion."

Mera stopped walking for a second. "Wait, _that's_ what they wanted you to do?"

Sunao nodded solemnly. "It was to make him more agreeable just so there was no possibility that he could deny Jinmenken. It's kinda like how Uma possessed Komajiro to get him to agree to the plan, which by the way…" he rubbed the back of his neck.

"They didn't have to do that to me. I kinda accepted them already. You know it's just against my nature to say no…" He chuckled nervously.

"It's alright," said Mera. "Not your fault those crooks took advantage of you. So did they just throw you in the dungeon after that?"

"In the machine room, you mean? Pretty much. They only needed Komajiro's help after that."

Mera growled. "I can't believe they did that to you. I'm even more glad that we got to beat them up now…"

Sunao gave a soothing smile. "It's okay, really. I'm glad I was down there since I was able to help you all fight in the end."

"Well, we all appreciate that a lot. You're a real champ!" Mera flashed him a thumbs up, which Sunao returned with a wink.

Suddenly, a booming, gruff voice called "Over there!" from somewhere behind them. The four turned around to see none other than Kakusan and Aitatatimes themselves followed by some cameraman Yo-kai. The cameramen were lanky in shape with pale white skin and some red markings on their faces.

"Hey, hey!" called the same voice, which belonged to Kakusan. "Meramelion and Jinmenken! There you are! We've been looking all over!"

Upon noticing the bewildered looks on the group's faces, Aitatatimes gave an explanation. "For the last few hours, the whole Yo-kai World's been going nuts over that strange phenomenon that overtook Sakura New Town. Lots of Yo-kai were keeping tabs on the city, and when word spread that you two were running around all not dead inside, everyone just kinda assumed you had to do with it. 'Cause, you know, you've been the center of almost every darned news story for the last week."

Then Kakusan butted in again. "We would've tried to hunt you down earlier, but then we got reports in from the Ungaikyo network that y'all were in the sewers or something."

"Wait a minute!" Komajiro interrupted angrily, "If other Yo-kai knew where we were, why didn't they send help, zura?!"

"Do you really think anyone with their head on straight is gonna go down there, short stuff?" Kakusan rebutted. "Besides, I ain't in charge of that kinda stuff! I'm just a reporter."

As Komajiro pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered something to himself, Aitatatimes turned to Mera.

"So what we're looking for," said the devil-like Yo-kai, "is an interview for our station. To clear the air about what exactly was going on. And because it'd make a sweet headline, of course!" Aitatatimes gave a hearty guffaw on the last part.

Mera nodded. "I'll give you as much of the honest truth as I can."

Sunao raised his hand. "I'll verify what he says. I'm a witness."

Jinmenken shuffled up next to Mera, his face strangely lit up. "You are going to interview _me_ as well, right?" He did a sassy "hair-flip" with his left ear.

"After all, I _am_ sort of a hero now. Would appreciate the recognition."

"Is _that_ why you decided to help us…?" Mera groaned, rolling his eyes.

Komajiro sighed. "Guess _this_ personality is coming out again, zura…"

"Actually," Kakusan said, "we kinda don't want you on camera."

" _What?!_ " Jinmenken screeched, mouth hanging open.

"Sorry, pal, but you're bad for our image!" Kakusan replied. "You're kinda in the top 5 low-lives of Yo-kai society. I mean, both you and Meramelion have been controversial as of late, but at least he doesn't have a history of being imprisoned…" he paused for a minute— "...eight times."

"He's got a point," Mera agreed with a smirk.

"B-b-b-but…" Jinmenken began, but was quickly dragged to the side by one of the cameraman Yo-kai.

"The media is corrupt! Society's priorities are wrong!" Jinmenken protested, but nobody paid any mind to him as Aitatatimes and Kakusan interviewed Mera and Sunao.

Komajiro was standing awkwardly outside of the circle of cameramen. He was wondering if he should leave when he heard a familiar voice from behind him.

"Komajiro?"

Said Yo-kai turned around. Facing him for the first time since the incident, head tilted and eyes filled with innocence like always, was Komasan.

" _N-nii-chan_ …?" Komajiro gasped.

"Komajiro!" Komasan said with a relieved smile. "Thank goodness I found you, zura! I just came to near that burger place 'round here and had no darned recollec—"

Komasan was interrupted when his younger brother practically leapt into his arms, the tears already pooling in his eyes. Komasan blinked in confusion.

"Komajiro? What's wrong, zura?"

" _Nii-chan_...I'm so sorry, zura...so _monge_ sorry, zura!"

Komasan comfortingly rubbed his brother's back. "Sorry, zura? For what, zura!"

"For...for everything, zura!" Komajiro blubbered. "I—I've kept so many things from you, zura. All of this is my fault, zura. It's 'cause I perpetuated Mera and Jinmenken fighting, and...and I should've known it'd end this way...I never should've—"

"Komajiro." Komasan wrapped both of his arms around his little brother, pulling him close so that their cheeks were touching. "I knew something hasn't been quite right with you, zura. But it's okay—as long as you're safe, I don't care, zura. You can tell me everything later and I'll forgive you no matter what, zura."

Komajiro sniffled. "Really, zura?"

Komasan ruffled his brother's scalp. "Of course, zura! Now isn't that what good brothers do, zura?

Komajiro nuzzled Komasan. " _Nii-chan_ , you're a _great_ brother, zura. I'll never forget it, zura."

Komasan beamed. "I love you, zura."

"I love you too, zura!"

The two hugged tighter, cherishing each other's warmth. It was then that Komajiro realized that perhaps everything had been worth it. He had learned an important lesson. And best of all, he got to share a moment with his beloved brother.

Komasan lifted his head after their long embrace. Suddenly, he cried, " _Monge!_ "

"Huh?" Komajiro wiggled out of Komasan's arms and turned around to look. His cheeks went bright red when he saw that the cameramen now had all the cameras on him and Komasan, with the others looking on. Mera and Sunao were openly crying, and even Jinmenken was looking down, as though to conceal his emotion.

Komasan blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "My, I'm awfully sorry if I interrupted anything, zura…"

A teary-eyed Aitatatimes wiped his nose on his sleeve. "Now don't you think that way, boy. That was the darned sweetest thing I've seen in weeks."

"A true glimmer of light in these dark days!" Kakusan hicced. "I hope you don't mind if we air this…"

Komajiro opened his mouth, but Komasan spoke before him. "Sure, zura!"

Komajiro exhaled. "It's not too personal, zura…?"

His older brother simpered. "If it makes people feel all good inside, then it's worth it, zura."

And nobody could argue with that.

Shortly after the Kakutimes crew left, Komasan and Komajiro split up with the group to head back home to the country. Sunao went off in another direction, and though he didn't specifically mention where he was going, he said he'd have a way to keep in touch. And so that left Mera and Jinmenken, who decided to retire at Mera's house.

"But don't think you're still living with me," Mera reminded Jinmenken when they were about a block away, poking his cheek. "You're still getting the heck out of my life. Like, soon."

"Now don't worry your little head," Jinmenken said back, "I'm not eager to keep waking up to you screaming at six in the morning."

"Good. Because I'm not eager to listen to you cry yourself to sleep at two in the morning."

Jinmenken narrowed his eyes. "Low blow, furnace-head."

"Doggy doo-doo."

"Cheese snack mascot reject."

"Pee drinker."

"Wackadoodle."

"Butt face."

"Can your insults be any more childish?"

"Can _your_ insults be any more lame?"

"Hairball!"

"Poophead!"

"I have a _lawyer_ —"

Suddenly, the door in front of them burst open, and it was only then that they realized they were on Mera's front doorstep. Gula stood in the doorframe, and almost as soon as he locked eyes with his younger brother waterfalls of tears poured from his eyes.

"Gula—" Mera started, but Gula suddenly lifted the younger lion off the steps and into the air before pulling him in close in a crushing bear hug.

"My little hero," he whispered into Mera's ear through his sobbing.

"Gula…" Mera whimpered, holding back tears of his own. He let out a little gasp. "Wait, how did you know—"

"It's a bit of a long story. I'll explain in a bit." He loosened his grip on Mera, leaving his little brother gasping for air.

"Come on inside," Gula offered, stepping aside for Mera to enter. When he noticed Jinmenken gawkily standing still, he nodded at him.

"You too, ya troublemaker. C'mon, I've got a surprise for you."

The canine raised an eyebrow. "A surprise?"

Gula said nothing additional, just jerking his head towards the inside of the house before going in himself. Jinmenken took a few seconds to ponder this before simply shrugging and following after him.

Almost as soon as he had stepped foot into the house, he heard plodding footsteps rushing towards him. He yelped as he was tackled with enough force to make him fall backwards; luckily, he caught himself by whirling his arms rapidly.

Clutching to his matted fur, miraculously, was Otonabull.

"Otonabull!" Jinmenken exclaimed, awkwardly wrapping one arm around the bulldog. "But didn't you…"

"He came back," Gula explained. "He practically demanded to know where you were. Said he knew something was up when he saw Aitatatimes and Kakusan running around."

"Gulagulion-san told me you were okay, though," Otonabull added, his face buried into Jinmenken's fur.

Gula nodded. "He was kinda crying his eyes out."

Otonabull whipped his head around suddenly. "I told you not to tell him I was crying! Adults don't cry over stuff like this!" he whined. Gula laughed and gave a quick shrug as an "apology".

"Actually…" Jinmenken said, his voice shuddering, "they do. They do a lot."

They were silent for a short time. Otonabull rested the side of his head on Jinmenken's chest. The older canine let out a shaky exhale.

"...I'm sorry," Jinmenken admitted. "Sorry about the...the stuff I put you through. I don't blame you for needing to get away. You're too young for this."

"It's fine," said Otonabull. "I shouldn't have yelled at you, either. This isn't the first mistake you've made, anyway…"

"And it won't be the last, I'm sure," Mera blurted out. Jinmenken glared at him.

"I didn't interrupt to insult you during _your_ moment," he snapped. He then looked down at the floor and made a sort of half-cough, half-laugh.

"...But yeah. You're probably right."

"I didn't mean it in a bad way," Otonabull corrected. "What I mean to say is that stuff happens to you all the time, right? And sometimes it takes you a while to get over the sadness, but when you do, you're back up on your feet. And that's why…" he looked up at the poodle with sparkling eyes—"that's why I still think you're the coolest ever, Jinmenken-san."

Jinmenken was, quite frankly, a bit shocked. It seemed like everybody knew him better than he did. But he didn't care—his behavior didn't destroy his friend's life, but actually inspired him. And he was thankful.

"You're a good kid, Otonabull," Jinmenken said softly, patting the pup's back.

"And you're a good man."

"But is he really?" Mera interrupted again, causing Jinmenken to throw daggers into the lion's skull with his glare. Mera and Gula couldn't help but double over in laughter at Jinmenken's comically enraged expression.

"Oh, my God, I'm _messing_ with you, poophead," Mera said in between gasps for air.

"Or _is_ he?" Gula wisecracked, causing the two brothers to guffaw like buffoons.

Jinmenken pulled Otonabull off of him and set him down to the side. He pretended to roll up his sleeves as he stepped forward.

"Do you wanna fight again? Because I don't really feel like it, but if you're _provoking_ me…"

Mera caught his breath and punched the air. "You wanna go? Okay, we can go."

"Nobody's _going_ at anybody," Gula ordered. "I think we've had enough for one day."

But Gula could tell just by the atmosphere in the room that, regardless of how often they'd fight from now on, nothing on the same scale would happen ever again.

After the conversation, Mera had decided to sit outside for a little solitude and some much-needed fresh air as Gula and Jinmenken packed up most of the things in the basement (because they had unanimously agreed that, no matter what, Jinmenken was still leaving). He had declined to converse with Gula until after Jinmenken left, because he had a feeling it was something he and Gula needed to be completely alone for. He must have fallen asleep underneath the single tree on his front lawn, because the next thing he knew, it was pretty much dusk. He got up, stepped out of the tree's shade, and stretched his arms above his head with a long yawn. The slight spring breeze licked his cheeks, filling him with a sense of comfort.

He heard the front door creak open. Jinmenken plodded over to his side without a word and folded his arms, lifting his chin up slightly to let the wind hit his face. The two stood quietly like this for a minute until Mera broke the ice.

"I know I said I was messing with you back there, but...you do know I still don't like you, right?"

Jinmenken shrugged. "And?"

"And...you don't like me, neither." Mera turned his head towards the other.

"...Right?"

"No. I still think you're a brat."

"Okay, good. Because even though the war wasn't technically our fault, the battles were, and I won't forget the things you did. And you're still, like, a criminal and stuff. Plus we both know that you're gonna be all weird again by tomorrow. So."

"Maybe not tomorrow. But yeah, eventually."

"So why don't you just break it to Otonabull?"

Jinmenken snorted. "Just because all my hopes become vanquished in five seconds doesn't mean his has to. Let him believe in me."

Mera hummed. "You know, as much as I hate to admit it, maybe I really did teach you something," he said, completely serious.

"Maybe you did."

More silence. Mera sat back down on the ground, leaning back with his arms behind him. Jinmenken sat next to him in the same position.

"So what does this make us, exactly?" Jinmenken asked.

Mera furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?"

"I mean, we're not enemies, I guess. But we're never gonna be friends. So what are we?"

Mera had to think about this for a second. When he finally came up with an answer, he smiled.

"Do you know those anime where the main character has that one rival?"

"I would've been in my sixties this year. Does it seem like I watch anime?"

Mera sighed. "Okay, it's like, the guy he fights all the time and they can never seem to agree on anything, and they hate each other but they also kinda don't. And sometimes they act like friends, but they aren't. It's more of a 'we're bound together by the literally one thing we have in common' thing."

Jinmenken frowned. "I...I guess I get what you're saying."

"Well, that's us, I think. Now that this war is over."

"You keep calling it a 'war'. Doesn't that mean someone has to have won?"

"You're right." Mera pounded his chest.

"It was obviously me."

"Why was it _obviously_ you?"

"Because I was the one that made you change your mind in that sewer. So that's kinda like surrendering to me."

"What? But that's not even what the war was about!"

"Yeah, it is. This started because I tried to make you not a depressing doo-doo head. It ended up getting a bit more malicious than that, but that was where it started. Now you're still a depressing doo-doo head, just maybe a bit less of one."

"I still don't get it…"

"Alright, we have to make it official," Mera stated. He jumped up and ran into the house, leaving Jinmenken more than a little confused. He soon came back out with a sheet of paper on a clipboard, a pen, and a jar of red paint. He sat back down, setting the paint next to him and practically shoving the clipboard and pen into Jinmenken's paws.

"Okay, so wars have to end with a peace treaty, right? Now you've gotta write down what I say, because my handwriting is really bad."

"Wait, what? Why does it have to be what _you_ say?"

"Because I won."

"We're supposed to _compromise_. I've been on this planet three times as long as you have, lion; I know how wars work."

"Okay, but the compromise is that I don't annoy you to death if you follow my terms."

"That's not…" Jinmenken sighed and slapped a paw to his forehead. "Whatever. I give up."

"Great. Alright, so title it 'The Treaty of Greenlawn'."

"'Greenlawn'? Really?"

"It sounds cooler than 'Mera's Front Yard,' okay?" Mera huffed.

Jinmenken rolled his eyes, but obliged and scrawled it out in big letters on the top of the page. He also put the date next to it for good measure. He looked up at Mera when he was finished.

"Now what?"

"Now," Mera continued, "write this: 'The opposing parties of Isamashi-tribe's Meramelion-san and Bukimi-tribe's Jinmenken-san do hereby agree that Meramelion-san is the victor and, from this day forward, there will be no further fighting on a degree of severity that poses a real danger to themselves or their loved ones.'"

"...That's it?"

Mera smiled. "Uh-huh."

"Oh...okay then. I thought you were gonna make me do a lap around the city dressed as a chicken or something."

"I mean, now that you mention it…"

"Forget it," Jinmenken cut him off, flustered, and began writing down the treaty terms as Mera giggled to himself. There was a soft tap when Jinmenken finally put the pen down on the clipboard.

"Next?"

"That's it. Now we sign it."

Jinmenken picked the pen back up. "Fair enough. Let me just…"

"Wait!" Mera shouted, startling Jinmenken and causing him to drop the pen on the ground.

" _Now_ what?"

"We're signing it my way."

"How do you sign it 'your' way? There's only one way to sign things. You just sign them."

"Not necessarily. Hand me the clipboard," Mera said, holding his hand out. Jinmenken reluctantly dropped the clipboard into the lion's hand. Much to the canine's surprise, Mera then dipped his other hand in the red paint, then slapped his palm onto the treaty. He held out the clipboard to Jinmenken, carefully holding it like a pizza box so the paint wouldn't drip. Jinmenken noticed that Mera's handprint just barely missed obscuring the written words.

"Your turn," Mera instructed with a gleeful grin.

Jinmenken shook his head. "I'm not doing that."

"Why not?"

"Because I have some dignity."

"But you have to do what I say."

"We didn't write that in the treaty."

Mera sighed. He reached over to pick up the pen on the ground next to Jinmenken and wrote hastily along the right margin in barely legible handwriting: "Jinmenken also has to listen to Meramelion in organizing the treaty because he will ruin his life if he doesn't." Mera set the pen, now covered in red paint from his hand, back on the ground and handed the clipboard to Jinmenken.

"Better?" He asked as Jinmenken squinted to read what he wrote. He couldn't decipher it at all, but he nodded anyway, just to get it over with. Mera nudged the jar of paint towards him, leaving a red mark on it. Jinmenken mumbled something to himself, but dipped his free paw into the paint anyway and placed his "signature" next to Mera's, whose handprint was probably twice as big as his pawprint. He then placed the clipboard on the ground and started wiping his paw off on the ground, resisting the urge to lick it clean (licking paint was a bad idea).

"So are we done?"

"We have to shake on it first," Mera said, extending the hand that wasn't covered in paint. Jinmenken sighed and did the same. Mera firmly took his paw and shook it up and down powerfully, jolting the canine a bit.

"Pinky promise?" Mera proposed.

"I don't have pinkies," Jinmenken deadpanned.

"Cross your heart and hope to die."

"I'm dead already."

"Just say you promise."

"I promise!" Jinmenken exclaimed, annoyed. "Are you _satisfied_ now?"

"Yes. Very." Mera yawned and lay down on his back, his arms behind his head. Jinmenken followed suit again, except he instead rested his paws on his chest. The clipboard with the treaty was in between the two of them. They both took in deep breaths, savoring the crisp air.

"So what's the next chapter in the life of Jinmenken, huh?" Mera asked after a while.

Jinmenken pushed his glasses up on his nose. "I don't know. I guess Otonabull and I are gonna move back into that alley. I'll go back to just hanging around. Visiting the street vendor at night. Normal stuff."

"Getting arrested once a week?"

Jinmenken chuckled. "Guess so. Maybe I should move to the midwestern US or something. Take on a new identity. They don't know about me there."

"Yeah, right. Pretty sure it's not that simple. It's also fraud or something."

"Know what else isn't simple? Escaping Alcatraz. But I did it."

"Didn't you have to get murdered first or something?"

Jinmenken paled. "Actually, let's not discuss this."

"Whatever. Next thing I know you're gonna tell me you're gonna start trying to make snapbacks stylish again."

"Maybe I will. Just to prove you wrong."

"Good luck. You're already the least stylish person I know without outdated fashion trends."

"Says the guy who wears a damn karate belt everywhere."

"It's so big jerks like you don't mess with me, alright?"

"Whatever you say, hairball."

"Whatever I say, poophead."

The two were silent for a moment. Then, out of nowhere, Mera started laughing hysterically, his stomach convulsing rapidly as he laughed so hard he thought he was going to have a heart attack.

"What the heck is so funny?" Jinmenken asked flatly.

"I don't know!" Mera gasped, "I guess I'm just going crazy."

Jinmenken shook his head slowly as he let Mera laugh himself to death. Eventually, the lion cooled down and his breathing slowed. He grinned.

"You know, I think I'm glad I didn't kill you. I'm glad that I hopefully don't have to look at you for a very long time, but I'm glad I didn't kill you."

Jinmenken nodded. "I feel the same, I suppose."

"Just one more thing."

"What's that?"

"Are you really gonna try harder to be a better person?"

Jinmenken sighed. He started playing with the knots in his chest fur.

"I guess. I can't make any promises, honestly. Sometimes things just come over me...I should've gotten help a long time ago. But…" his lip curled upwards ever so slightly— "I'll try the best I can. Even if it takes me a while to get somewhere."

"If you're really going to do that, then…" Mera tilted his head towards Jinmenken, looking him in the eye. "The trouble was worth it after all."

Jinmenken made a grunt as a sort of agreement, then the two of them turned their heads back towards the sky. It was dyed a naturally beautiful gradient of orange and pink and the few clouds that were in sight were but wispy streaks. The sun was beginning to sink into the horizon, but its brightness did not fade. It was a beacon of light from a lighthouse, a lighthouse far, far away, guiding the world towards tomorrow, towards a glowing new day. A day for hope, when the world would be a better place, even if by just a little.

As the officially-declared rivals gazed into that beacon, no words between them but the ones written on the paper in the middle of them, they felt just a little closer towards the light than they had before.

When Mera woke up the next morning, it was like Jinmenken and Otonabull had never been there. They had left without much fanfare the night before—Gula said that he'd deliver to Jinmenken anything he wanted to keep at a later date and would keep everything else stored in the basement, just in case. Gula had also promised to keep in touch with his new friend Otonabull, since they had come to enjoy each other's company during the ordeal. Mera and Jinmenken barely exchanged any more words—they felt they had wrapped things up well enough already. Mera decided he would keep the peace treaty in his room as a reminder. A reminder for what, exactly, he didn't know. But he knew it was significant.

Jinmenken and Otonabull stayed for a while after dark to fit in a quick nap, then departed while Mera was sleeping. And so it was over.

He waltzed into the kitchen for a quick breakfast, not at all bothered by the quietness in the basement. Gula was watching TV in the living room since he had off of work.

"You didn't tell me what happened with the Koma brothers," Gula said, sounding like he was holding back tears. Mera smiled as he opened up the cabinet.

"They're real sweet, aren't they? I'm glad for them. I guess like everyone else involved in this mess, they got something nice out of it, too."

As Mera was grabbing a couple slices of bread, he suddenly remembered something.

"Wait, are you watching the Kakutimes station? Did they air my interview?"

Gula laughed half-heartedly. "They did, but it got cut out by something from Yopple. You know they like to pretend their advertisements are 'breaking news'. Something about a dream roulette they're opening over the summer."

"Ah...oh well." Mera shrugged. "Maybe they'll replay it later."

"Which reminds me," Gula added, "you wanted to know how I knew about what happened, right?"

Mera nodded as he started the toaster. "Yeah."

"Well...Todoki sent me an email yesterday during the...phenomenon."

In less than three seconds Mera was seated next to Gula on the couch with eyes as wide as saucers.

"Let me see," Mera demanded, his breath hitched in his throat. Gula pulled out his cell phone and opened up the email, then handed the phone to Mera. Mera's hands shook as he read what was written:

 _Dear Gula,_

 _I don't know when you're going to see this, since you probably aren't functioning properly at this time, but I hope it's soon. Mera reached out to me earlier today and asked me for help. I had to turn him down, and I know you're probably pissed off at me for doing so, but I do kinda feel bad. While I do think it's something that he got himself into and should sort out himself_ , _there's definitely advice I could've given him that I didn't because I was busy. I hope I didn't damage the little man too badly...but he's got a strong spirit. The fire that never goes out...you know how it is._

Mera smiled at that part, remembering the thoughts he had back when he was still fighting Yamimaro and Uma. He continued reading:

 _Anyway, to make a long story short, I do know where he is now. He and that Jinmenken guy are in the waterworks—some Ungaikyo got pressured to leak that information during all the commotion around here. Now, I'm no officer or anything, but I know more secrets than you might think I know since I'm involved with so many Yo-kai. Even the Yo-kai World leaders look up to me, you know? And so I know for a fact that there's some awfully sinister group down there in those waterworks, and I know they have something to do with this because I'm pretty sure they're the only sewer-dwellers that have access to the Ungaikyo network. There have been mysterious attacks and stuff, too—but it's definitely not your standard wanted Yo-kai stuff, I'll tell you that (because pretty much all of those wanted Yo-kai are on the same level as Usepp, which means they're pretty bad at being criminals). What exactly is going on we won't find out until later, I suppose. But once this is over—if this is over—I fully plan on asking for a full investigation. It's unfortunately too chaotic around here right now to take any reasonable action...you know, gossip, drama, the press. It's messy. Anyway, I'm gonna assume that if you're reading this, things are back to normal. So don't be scared. Be proud, because if the evidence here is pointing in the right direction, our little brother did a great thing today. And I hope he knows that, because he needs to feel good right now._

 _I won't be able to talk to you guys tomorrow. I'll probably dealing with legal bullshit all day just to get Yo-kai to_ plan _to search the waterworks. Because honestly, they probably won't even believe that the group is still down there, because if they're as strong as they say they're definitely alive and probably fled. But I want you to do this for me. When he comes home, I want you to let him know that he's our little hero. And I'm very, very proud of him, and very sorry. And that next time he calls me, I won't judge him then. Or ever._

 _I've gotta go. Yo-kai are banging at my door. They want me to go out and console the public. Somehow I'm gonna have to do that without starting mass hysteria, I guess. Yeah, they can't know about the sewer freaks just yet. Ah, well. Don't worry about me. Stay safe—I love you and Mera more than anything else in the world. Never forget it._

 _Todoki_

Mera shut the phone screen off and put it in his lap. He wiped the tears from his eyes on his arm. Gula put one arm around his brother's shoulders and squeezed.

"Guess you were right, huh? He does wanna help us."

"Yeah…" Mera sniffled. At first he sort of just wanted to never speak of the ordeal again, but now he felt incredibly eager to talk about it, at least to Todoki. He needed him to know everything he had done—and everything he had learned. He could write him back, but he decided he needed to speak it verbally, in person, and that's what he would do tomorrow.

"I think I'm gonna go visit him," Mera announced. Gula blew air out of his lips, making a "pfft" sound.

"Okay, don't get carried away, bud."

"I'm serious." Mera hopped up off the couch. "I think it'd be good for the two of us. Besides, I could help in his investigation."

"I guess, but…" Gula sighed. "Don't you want a break from all this?"

"Listen, Gula. After all the time I spent agonizing over my relationship with my older brother, getting some relief _is_ a break. A huge one."

"If you say so. It's gonna be tough to get into his office, though…"

"If he finds out I'm coming, he'll make it his priority to get me in. I'm sure of it."

Gula nodded slowly. He was worried about his youngest brother getting into serious trouble, but he was secretly too glad that Mera had confidence in his and Todoki's relationship to care. Gula loved Todoki, too, but he found it harder to trust him after he had left to live in the Yo-kai World. He didn't want that for Mera.

"So I guess that ties up all the loose ends, then," Gula mused.

"Guess so," Mera agreed happily.

"Except that dog never paid the rent…"

"He never will," Mera laughed.

Gula clicked his tongue. "Nope. Hey, speaking of which, how are things between you and him now? You never quite said."

Mera absentmindedly looked out the window on the front door. "Alright."

"Just alright?"

"I mean, we came to a mutual agreement. We don't plan on seeing each other any time soon. We need some time off."

Gula shrugged one shoulder. "As long as you two aren't gonna kill each other, that's fine with me."

Mera figured he didn't have to tell Gula the more complicated things—the treaty, the state of their rivalry, their promises. He felt that should be kept between him and Jinmenken. Maybe he talked about it one day—but not now. Frankly, he didn't really want to talk about Jinmenken to anyone but Todoki.

Actually, that was a lie.

"I just remembered!" Mera exclaimed, "I'm going to Garu's."

"...Now?"

"Yeah," Mera said, suddenly filled with a strong eagerness to see his friend. He knew he had been worried about Mera after everything that had been going on, so Mera knew he just had to let him know that everything was alright. He had been planning to go later that day, but after reading Todoki's email, he felt like he just had to tell somebody about it now.

"I'll catch you later, Gula!" Mera said as he headed for the door.

"Wait!" Gula called, "Your toast…"

But Mera had already dashed out and closed the door behind him. Gula shook his head with a laugh. His brother always had such limitless energy and did things in such a haste. He decided he liked that, however, better than having no energy and being mopey. He was glad his brother was back.

Mera couldn't help but hum to himself as he made the long trip to his best friend's abode. He resided in the Yo-kai World, so he could've taken an Ungaikyo close by, but after yesterday's events he decided he wanted to do a lap around downtown first. He wanted to see everything he didn't have time to appreciate over the last few weeks because he was chasing Jinmenken around or wandering a deserted wasteland. He would appreciate every lively moment in his life just a little bit more now that he knew what it was like to be sad. And he planned to spread that zest for life to everyone in the world—that was his mission. And he knew that more than ever now. Positivity was, after all, the strongest of all forces. And just a little of it, just a dash of hope or a pinch of love, could make all the difference in anyone's life. That was the lesson the war taught him, or rather, re-taught him—maybe he needed a reinforcement.

And that's how Meramelion's ever-burning spirit grew even stronger.

~The End~

* * *

 **Before I get into my concluding statements, here's the final localization index:  
**

 **Kayukayu = Scritchy**

 **And something I completely forgot to mention before, Soultimate moves. Should've covered this last chapter, whoops.**

 **Ossan-kami Max = Creepy Superbite**

 **Saiken Burning = Blazing Fist (and Kakusei Saiken Burning is Awakened Saiken Burning, which is based off of Mera's upgraded form in the Japanese version of Wibble Wobble but his Soultimate isn't actually called that in the game; it's just Saiken Burning.)**

 **Sunaona Suna = Sandmeh's Gritless Sand**

 **Furai Thunder = Wild Zaps**

 **And so that's the end, everybody. I'd like to extend my thanks to anyone who's stuck it out for so long (I mean this is possibly the longest Yo-kai Watch fic as of right now) and to all those who have given me feedback of any sort. I'd also like to give a special shoutout to my friend Toripocalypse, who beta read this fic for me and served as a huge source of inspiration and support over the last five or so months. If you're looking for some fantastic, funny, and sweet YW fics, I'd definitely recommend the works she's posted on this site.**

 **Writing _Lit Match, Meet Oil_ hasn't been the easiest process, especially considering the fact that I went into this having not written a complete fanfiction in years (and even then, only oneshots). There are a few scenes that I think could've come out better in hindsight, but there's also a ton of things that came out greater than I could've hoped, and overall I learned a lot about my writing in the process. It's been a tough but satisfying ride, and I hope you all enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

 **And by the way, the adventures of Mera and Jinmenken aren't over yet! I do have a much more lighthearted, much less complicated fic planned for release within the next couple of months. It's time-sensitive, so it'll come out mid-January at the absolute latest, but I'm really aiming for late December. More on that later (I'll probably update my profile with info on it once I actually begin working on it).**

 **Thanks so much once again!**


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